Mandan Shrine

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Mandan Shrine

Date

November 9, 1833

Dimensions

8 1/8 × 10 7/16 in. (20.6 × 26.5 cm)

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.168

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

In his diary Maximilian describes this shrine just as it appears in the watercolor. In the published aquatint (Vignette XIV) the knives were moved from the rear to the foreground of the picture and, in one version of this image, the sinister effect of the snake on the buffalo skull was heightened by the addition of black carrion birds. Both the shrine depicted here and the one in Image 1986.49.386 were originally painted in November of 1833. Both were located near the burial ground of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch. The human skulls in this shrine were probably removed from that burial ground. Skull shrines, observed by several travelers, were related to beliefs regarding the human body after death and were used as fasting grounds for those seeking supernatural powers.

References in Journal

November 9, 1833

Labels:

Mih-Tutta-Hangkusch

Approximate Depicted Location:

Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch, Mandan Village