A pair of Upper Missouri quilled moccasins


The otherwise unadorned footwear with applied keyhole form medallion on the toe, bundles of horsehair wrapped in quills forming a spiral effect, with a bold red triangle opposite a trapezoidal patch of tradecloth, on recycled painted parfleche soles.length 10in
|ProvenanceMario Luraschi, Paris; Robert Duperier, collector and gallery owner, ParisAs an indication of Duperier's status in twentieth century European collectors' circles, the New York Times in a June 22, 2001 article regarding the forthcoming auction of African art from the estate of world-famous collector Hubert Goldet, pointed out that "Many of Mr. Goldet's works came from well-known early French and Swiss collectors, including Maurice Nicaud, Henri Kamer, Charles Ratton, Robert Duperier and Pierre Vérité."A 48-page expertise on these moccasins included with this lot has been written by Theodore Brasser, museum curator and author on topics of Native American material culture. Entitled "An Important Pair of Upper Missouri River Moccasins - ca: 1830-1840", the hardbound volume (limited to 4 printed copies) discusses and illustrates details of their manufacture and aesthetics in comparison to other known traditions of that region and epoch. On page 12 he writes "Summarizing the most relevant data of this survey, this pair of moccasins was made in the early nineteenth century, probably c. 1830-1840, considering their ancient style. Moccasins decorated with the key-hole design in quill-wrapped horsehair were used by the Crow and the Mandan-Hidatsa...The unusually large rosette, and its design, may be a distinctly Crow feature, in view of its long survival in their art style. I believe this to be an early pair of Crow moccasins, although they may well have been acquired from the Mandan-Hidatsa."