Shield, ca. 1850. Unknown artist (Native American, Arikara artist, North Dakota). Bison rawhide, native tanned leather, and native pigment. Purchase: Donald D. Jones Fund for American Indian Art.
This object is a masterpiece of Plains Indian visionary painting. The deerskin cover of the heavy rawhide shield is embellished with the image of a buffalo bull, the owner’s guardian spirit, which would have been revealed to him in a vision during a period of prolonged fasting and prayer. The painting depicts the very moment of spiritual encounter—the artist’s transcendent revelation and profound connection with the supernatural. The intensity of this experience is conveyed through the precise delineation of form; the sense of immediacy and gesture inherent in the handling of paint and visual texture; and the bold composition and unusual development of pictorial space. Most immediately, the artist’s vision is established through the dramatic depiction of the animal itself— upswept horns, iconic hoof and direct, unwavering gaze.
