Mandan Drum

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Mandan Drum

Date

November 13, 1833

Dimensions

7 5/16 × 8 3/8 in. (18.6 × 21.3 cm)

Medium

Graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.272

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

Drums and rattles were the most common Plains musical instruments. This particular drum belonged to Mató-Tópe, the Mandan chief pictured in Plates 317 and 318. The design, representing buffalo tracks and lightning, is red on a black background. The notation on the side of the drum says "reddish." In Tableau 48 of the published atlas, the drum is shown with a drumstick wrapped in strips of bright cloth and festooned with leather thongs.

References in Journal

November 13, 1833

Labels:

study

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort Clark, North Dakota