Bodmer_Publication

l. to r.
# 36079 Moccasins with
bear track motif,
Teton Dakota
# 36059 Pair of moccasins,
Iroquois (Seneca?)
# 36078 Pair of moccasins,
Brulé-Teton
Dakota
# 35996 Ladle made of horn,
northern Plains area
# 36122 Pipe stem,
probably Dakota
# 36141 Pipe bowl, Dakota
Among the pieces of the Wied collection in Stuttgart documented on Tableau 48
is the pair of moccasins listed as No. 9. It is a pair of Dakota moccasins displaying a
bear-track decoration done in quillwork (36079 a, b). The moccasins that Prince
Maximilian probably acquired in the Seneca settlement close to the Niagara Falls
during his visit there also feature very fine quillwork (Acc. No. 36059 a, b). Possibly
a further piece in the Stuttgart collection is shown in Fig. 7: a red-dyed, deer-hair
roach decorated with a feather and the rattle of a rattlesnake hanging from the tip.
However, the headdress in Stuttgart has two additional feathers at the back,
attached to a wooden figure carved in the shape of a man (Acc. No. 36115).
Fig. 12 is a combination of two objects: a wooden Dakota pipe stem with a perforated
pattern, decorated with metal nails, dyed horsehair and quills (Acc. No.
36122) is shown together with a pipe bowl made of catlinite. This typical Dakota
pipe bowl is decorated with lead inlays (Acc. No. 36139). In Fig. 15 a hoop and pole
game is documented consisting of a hoop with a leather net and a wooden fork
(Acc. No. 35992 a, b); the game was played by young men in spring to show off their
skills. 18 The gunstock club (Acc. No. 35982) that went to Arthur Speyer is shown in
Fig. 4. Whether the stem of the Blackfeet (Piegan) ceremonial pipe labeled as Fig. 13
is identical with the pipe stem in the Stuttgart Wied collection (Acc. No. 36121) cannot
be confirmed, as the richly quill-decorated eagle feathers on the tableau do
not match the original object. Certainly the pipe bowl with the lead inlay and the
notched relief pattern, Acc. No. 36142) is held today in the Linden-Museum.
Further objects from the Linden-Museum’s collection are included in Karl
Bodmer’s watercolors (Hunt et al. 1984: 335, pl. 349, fig. 5), 19 for example, the ladle
out of the horn of a bighorn sheep (Acc. No. 35996), probably of Blackfoot origin.
The watercolor titled “Clubs and Pipes” documents a few clubs: Fig. 9 is a club
with a head shaped like a hammer (Acc. No. 35975); Fig. 8 a catlinite ceremonial
club with lead inlay (Acc. No. 35978); Fig. 10 a wooden Ponca sword club (Acc. No.
35980); Fig. 7 a Dakota pipe bowl made of catlinite with a lead inlay and a relief
representing a snake (Acc. No. 36140) and Fig. 6 another Dakota catlinite pipe bowl
(Acc. No. 36141).
Objects Unfold Their Own Presence
When, in 1904, the North America pieces of Prince Maximilian’s collection came
to be housed in Stuttgart, they were the visible proof of the Native Americans’ cultural
vitality that had so deeply impressed the Prince. The painted buffalo robes
bore witness to the courage, pride and dignity of their chiefs and warriors. And the
fine and elaborate decorative work produced by women on containers of all kind,
clothing and other items left its mark on museum visitors. Ceremonial clubs,
emblems of warrior societies and ritual paraphernalia such as tobacco pipes and
tobacco pouches reflected the status of individuals and bore evidence of complex
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