two-hide dress

unrecorded Ka’igwu (Kiowa) artist, artist

two-hide dress, late 1800s

Where object was made: Great Plains, United States

Material/technique: beads; pigment; deer fur; dyeing; beading; cotton; buckskin

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 123 x 120 cm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 48 7/16 x 47 1/4 in

Credit line: Source unknown

Accession number: 2007.2767

Not on display

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Label texts

This style of dress, commonly referred to as a “two-hide dress” or “deer-tail dress,” became popular in the central plains in the early 1800’s replacing the earlier side-fold dress. The design utilizes the natural contours of the animal and requires minimal tailoring. Many of the two-hide dresses of this style were actually made from big-horn sheep because these animals were plentiful and their hides were longer and broader than deer hide.

Exhibition Label:
"Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures," Jul-2011, Nancy Mahaney
This style of dress, commonly referred to as a “two-hide dress” or “deer-tail dress,” became popular in the central plains in the early 1800’s replacing the earlier side-fold dress. The design utilizes the natural contours of the animal and requires minimal tailoring. Many of the two-hide dresses of this style were actually made from big-horn sheep because these animals were plentiful and their hides were longer and broader than deer hide.