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Parfleche Envelope, one of a pair

Parfleche bags are made to store items of personal and cultural importance by Indigenous people from the northern and southern Plains regions of North America. Parfleche bags are constructed using tanned hide and ochre, a natural mineral pigment harvested and processed by hand. Indigenous communities sourced ochres and other natural pigments from mineral-rich deposits such as those found in Yellowstone National Park—named for the yellow minerals found within the area.

Person or group, or general cultural designation, of the Gros Ventre Plains Indian, Native North American culture. [Getty ULAN]

Dateca. 1880
MediumHide and pigment
Dimensions23 3/4 x 13 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (60.3 x 34.9 x 9.5 cm)
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Gift of Bruce Hartman, Prairie Village, KS, in memory of Wilma and Edward Hartman, Lee's Summit and Kingsville, MO, 2020.117.2
ClassificationTribal Art
Provenance(Allard Auctions, Santa Fe, NM); purchased by Bruce Hartman, Prairie Village, KS; given to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2020
On ViewYes
Parfleche Envelope, …23.8 × 13.8 in.Tennis Ball2.7 in. diameter

This artwork's face covers about 45× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.