Minneapolis Institute of Art

Dress

Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) artist

Date

c. 1875

Medium

Mountain sheep hide and sinew, glass beads, hemp

Culture

Nez Perce

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This dress was made in the late to mid-1800s by a Nez Perce woman artist for a young woman, and it is constructed from several hides. The artist retained the composition of the mountain goat form, including the tail and legs, in order to imbue the wearer with the qualities and power of the animal. In the early 1800s, a hank, or bundle, of pony beads (large, smooth glass beads), like those featured in this dress, were so highly prized that their trade value was worth a pony. The artist deftly beaded black, white, red, and yellow beads in vertical rows, creating an undulating, dynamic pattern, which is then mirrored at the bottom hem of the dress with fringe that would sway back and forth as the wearer walked. United States, Americas

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.