Pueblo Buffalo Hide Belt with Provenance

Pueblo

19th Century | Hide, Silver, Shell | Item 1616

This is a wonderful and early buffalo hide, Pueblo belt from the 19th century. There is a tag affixed to one end stating the collection date of 10/13/1932 from the Roy H. Robinson collection. The belt is made of three pieces of hide, all sewn with sinew. One end has a star shaped silver concho adjacent to two holes. A bit further out from are two mother of pearl shell pieces with a large hole for the hide strip and two very small adjacent holes. The remaining length of the belt has three spaced out silver concho buttons. The opposite end also has two, adjacent holes one inch in from the end. These sets of holes at each end were where hide would have been placed to secure the belt around a waist.

Affixed with a paper tag inscribed:

Rec 10/13/32 Pueblo (?) buffalo hide belt. (Formerly / belonged to General VanCamp. PW

The following is an exert from the Bonham’s Auction House:

Roy H. Robinson (1882-1970)

Assembled in the early part of the 20th century, Robinson intended to design a museum for his collection which was recognized by experts in the field such as George Gustave Heye, Frederick J. Dockstader, and Norman Feder. Robinson was a Chicago-based builder and inventor whose interest in Native American cultures arose in the early 1900s. After decades of collecting, Roy married WPA artist Lucile Ward and together they enjoyed studying, caring for, and documenting each object in the collection. Lucile continued her dedication to the collection after his death, transcribing her husband’s notes, inspecting, and maintaining the vast inventory.

“With the passage of time, the collection of Roy H. Robinson came to be viewed as a ‘lost collection,’ the stuff of legend amongst those who knew of its existence but, not having seen it, had only heard rumors of its magnificence,” said Ingmars Lindbergs, Director of Bonhams Native American Art Department. “This is arguably the last large private collection from this era and although the dream of a museum dedicated to his collection did not come to fruition, the ultimate goal of sharing these beautiful objects and their stories will here be fulfilled.”

The long-established presence of Robinson and his family in New Mexico is evidenced in the variety of historic Pueblo pottery and jewelry collected there. Highlights include classic Zuni pottery ollas gifted to Robinson by his sister, Edna, who had married Dr. Frank Mera, tuberculosis specialist and founder of the Sunmount Sanatorium in Santa Fe, which in the early 1900s attracted numerous artists, writers, and other luminaries who would change the cultural landscape of Santa Fe.