A Lakota (Sioux) pictorial beaded vest
Fully beaded on fabric-lined hide, with geometric devices on the face, a horse, a pair of American flags and horse tracks verso, with hide fringe along the lower edge.
length 19 1/2in, width 18 1/2in
Footnotes:
Provenance
Ex-Collection of George R. Mallette
Property from the Collection of Joel and Kate Kopp, New York

Exhibited
Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY, January 22 - March 21, 1976
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI, April 4 - August 1, 1976
Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI, August 13 - September 26, 1976
Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, October 8 - November 21, 1976
The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ, December 5, 1976 - January 16, 1977

Illustrated
Pohrt, Richard A., The American Indian / The American Flag, 1976, Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI, p. 103, fig. 122;

Herbst, T. and Kopp, J., The Flag in American Indian Art, 1993, New York State Historical Association, New York, NY, p. 36, fig. 12; 'Vests were part of European male attire from the late 16th century. Starting in the 1890s Lakota women created a distinctive style which, although based on contemporary Euro-American form, was covered entirely with beadwork that often incorporated pictorial scenes. The radical stylization of the American flag is compatible with the austere layout of the horse and three hoofprints.'

Good condition overall with general minor dust accumulation, wear/fraying and losses to the fabric piping and dryness and losses to the hide ties (some ties replaced). A couple of scattered lost beads. Some minor dryness and wear to the fringe. Hide feels supple.