This is an extraordinary, unusual polychrome painted Buffalo hide war shield attributed to the Bear Cult of the Sioux Native American Indians of the 1870’s. The piece is comprised of wetted and parfleche Great American Bison Buffalo hide stretched over a bent wood tree branch frame and is secured with hide lacing. The shield has the original wooden supports and arm straps still intact. The front of the shield is painted in a polychrome mineral pigment pattern in colors of green, red, blue, black, and white with documented Bear Cult symbols. The Sioux Bear Cult Warriors were known to be some of the fiercest and bravest of the Sioux sub-clans, with emphasis on their stealthy, brutal killers who fought under the cover of the full moon. The shield has some fading of the paint and some minor wear from age and use, but it is in very good condition, overall. The large painted black bear on the front center is symbolically important to Bear Cult Society Members as it represents the power and strength of the bear. The faded white full moon above the bear claw represents their activity in the night. There are four sets of Turkey feathers attached to the front with hand-rolled tin jingle cone dangles; years ago, a previous collector replaced the original Hawk feathers with Turkey feathers to comply with Federal Bird of Prey laws. There are two large Black Bear claws tied onto the bottom front of the shield with old hide lacing and the shield shows several other pierced holes, which indicates the shield had more feathers and fringe tied on. Provenance: The shield was collected from the Sioux Native American Indians from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota by respected artifact dealer Jim Aplan of Piedmont, South Dakota back in the 1970’s. This piece is also from the ex-collections of Jim Bastian of Kansas City, Missouri and Tom Hardy of Indianapolis, Indiana. This is truly an unusual and scarce, well preserved 19th Century example with beautiful, attributed history and collector ownership. Measures 21 inches across.

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