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Sioux Dentalium Shell Beaded Dress c. 1880

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Sioux Dentalium Shell Beaded Dress c. 1880
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This is an exceptional and historic Sioux Native American Indian full wampum Dentalium shell beaded dress dating to circa 1880. The dress shows a very rare large size and is believed to be the largest earliest representation ever brought to public sale. The piece shows a dark blue to black trade wool cloth construction with yellow, blue and red early trade ribbons accenting the bottom edge and ends of each sleeve. The most important piece of the dress is the large Dentalium Shell beaded cape that is draped over the entire shoulder, chest and back of the dress and accented by Dentalium Shell beaded medicine wheels on both sides (four in total). All other examples brought to auction have not had nearly as many shells or as large a beaded area. The base of the dress also show unique trade solid brass discs in a repeating symbol pattern of a tepee and either the letter "T" or the representation of something of its shape. The bottom of the dress shows the wonderful selvedged trade cloth edge. Overall the dress shows a total of 13 rows of dentalium shells to create a large collar. The cloth was dyed with a rich indigo pigment dye and the edges would retain the undyed selvage as part of the garments design. Provenance: From the large and illustrious collection of Leo Hakola of LaBarge, Wyoming where he acquired from his mother who held various Indian trading post in the early 1900’s across the West. Leo Hakola has been featured on the show American Pickers of the History Channel along with being a professional prop and item curator for the film Dances with Wolves. Mr. Hakola has been known for many decades as one of the premier knowledges on Indian artifacts and trade beads and has held some of the finest pieces in his collection through the years. These authentic early circa 19th Century Sioux Dentalium Shell Dresses are very scarce with most examples being displayed in large museum collections such as the Crazy Horse Museum Collection and the Brooklyn Museum. A very few examples have been brought to sale in recent years such as the dress sold for $11,070 by Skinner Auctions in 2016, the dress that sold for $6,500 at Allard Auctions in 2015, the dress that sold for $18,450 in Cowan’s Auction in 2015, the dress that sold for $5,843 at Skinner’s Auction in 2015 all showing a smaller size in comparison to the example brought forward to sale in this lot. The dress measures 53 1/2" wide from the tips of each sleeve, 26 1/2" wide underneath each armpit - across the chest, and 53" long from the shoulder seam, to the bottom of the dress. Dentalium shell is considered the number one wampum or most desired adornment for the Sioux. A similar example of Sioux Dentalium Shell Dress was shown on PBS Antiques Roadshow in 2015 in a much smaller size and was found to carry a value of $7,000. An expert examined this dress and stated that enough Dentalium shells were found on this dress to value it at over $10,000 alone for the early authentic 1870-1880’s shells. The dress shows some condition with some loss to the fabric from age in spots, some loss to the shells along the front of the dress, and more loss on the back of the dress as shown. This dress is considered to be one of the finest early American Indian pieces we have offered for sale and is truly an authentic museum piece.