Rachel
In 1607, The Virginia Company founded Jamestown, the first British colony in the New World. Near Jamestown lived Powhatan, a group of Algonquian-speaking tribes of the Mississippian culture. In correspondence to traditional American Indian culture, the leader of this group, Powhatan, had many treasures, one of which is shown below known as “Powhatan’s Mantle.” Roughly seven-and-a- half feet by five feet, this large hide signifies the immense power of Powhatan; the intricate detail indicates that the Powhatan respected their leader enough to spend enormous amounts of time embroidering shells onto the hide. Known as “Marginella shell beadwork” (Pohl), the embroidering was common in ceremonial objects throughout Native American tribes.
The beads on the hide form thirty circles placed around the figures of a man and two animals: the animal on the right half of the hide, with what has been identified as a cloven hoof, “could represent a white-tailed deer” (Pohl), from which the hide comes; the animal on the left, however, has rounder paws and a long tail and “has been tentatively identified as a mountain lion” (Pohl). The two animals represented could be placed there because they were necessary for survival and provided food and hide to the Powhatan, or they could have been spirit animals of leaders of tribes; either way, their importance perseveres. The material used, the hide, provides the work with a certain intimate quality, reflecting that the artists valued their leader more than most.
Image Cited
"Powhatan's Map on Deerskin Mantle." She-philosopher.com. Published Jan. 11, 2007. Accessed Sept. 5, 2012. <http://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/powhatan-map.html>.
Works Cited
Pohl, Frances K. Framing America: A Social History of American Art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2002.
In 1607, The Virginia Company founded Jamestown, the first British colony in the New World. Near Jamestown lived Powhatan, a group of Algonquian-speaking tribes of the Mississippian culture. In correspondence to traditional American Indian culture, the leader of this group, Powhatan, had many treasures, one of which is shown below known as “Powhatan’s Mantle.” Roughly seven-and-a- half feet by five feet, this large hide signifies the immense power of Powhatan; the intricate detail indicates that the Powhatan respected their leader enough to spend enormous amounts of time embroidering shells onto the hide. Known as “Marginella shell beadwork” (Pohl), the embroidering was common in ceremonial objects throughout Native American tribes.
The beads on the hide form thirty circles placed around the figures of a man and two animals: the animal on the right half of the hide, with what has been identified as a cloven hoof, “could represent a white-tailed deer” (Pohl), from which the hide comes; the animal on the left, however, has rounder paws and a long tail and “has been tentatively identified as a mountain lion” (Pohl). The two animals represented could be placed there because they were necessary for survival and provided food and hide to the Powhatan, or they could have been spirit animals of leaders of tribes; either way, their importance perseveres. The material used, the hide, provides the work with a certain intimate quality, reflecting that the artists valued their leader more than most.
Image Cited
"Powhatan's Map on Deerskin Mantle." She-philosopher.com. Published Jan. 11, 2007. Accessed Sept. 5, 2012. <http://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery/powhatan-map.html>.
Works Cited
Pohl, Frances K. Framing America: A Social History of American Art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2002.