Mandan Figures

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Mandan Figures

Date

April 9, 1834

Dimensions

5 1/2 × 8 3/4 in. (14 × 22.2 cm)

Medium

Graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.218

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

The majority of these small sketches depict women carrying burdens. The top central figure in Plate 291 has a burden basket on her back supported by a tumpline across her forehead. This type of basket is more clearly pictured hanging from a post in Plate 300. Other women are laden with what may be bundles of firewood. Maximilian was impressed with both the weight of these bundles and the manner in which people got them on their backs. The wood was bound together and placed on the ground, and a woman would then lie on her back on top of it. Once the bundle was secured across her head or chest, a second woman would raise her to her feet, supporting her until she could stand upright and bend forward under the load. Even larger loads might be pushed or dragged across the ice. The faint group of figures in the center of Plate 291 seems to be three women working together on such a task.

References in Journal

April 9, 1834

Labels:

study , Mih-Tutta-Hangkusch

Approximate Depicted Location:

Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch, Mandan Village