Sioux Parfleche Container/Envelope

Sioux

Circa 1875 | Hide, Sinew | Item 2341

This is beautiful and unusual parfleche container. The single piece of hide is folded in half and stitched up the long side with hide over a red cloth, likely cotton. Much of this cloth is gone, as is the hide stitching, but enough remains to make it clear how this edge was sealed. The top of the hide is extended with a canvas type of cloth with two blue stripes. This cloth is joined to the hide with a wide section of sinew. The bottom of the hide is closed with a different type of finer cloth woven in a twill weave. This cloth secures the bottom and is attached to the hide with the same wide section of sinew. This cloth is torn and now has a large hole in the center with all edging still intact with the hide.

The front panel is beautifully designed with outlined (in brown) shapes, mostly triangles and diamonds. Blue, red, green and yellow are used in a complex pattern with multiple borders towards the edges. In striking contrast is the back side, designed in a highly minimalist approach with four sets of bands in blue and green also outlined in brown. The two central bands incorporate two triangles. The rest of the space is left void. This back side has the appearance of a much early period and makes the container so much more interesting. The added cloth to turn this into a container is rarely seen with parfleche and adds a unique use and design to the whole system. There are two holes in the hide, one on the side and one of the back. They appear to be the results of rodents chewing away. 2341