Packkaab-Sachkoma-Poh, Piegan Blackfeet Man

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Packkaab-Sachkoma-Poh, Piegan Blackfeet Man

Date

September 1833

Dimensions

12 5/8 × 10 1/8 in. (32.1 × 25.7 cm)

Medium

Watercolor on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.287

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

A Piegan and a French name are inscribed on this watercolor; the translation of the latter is "Mean Boy"or "Wicked Boy." There is no reference in the diaries to an individual of either name. Tucked under this man's arm is a feather fan, the grip wrapped with cloth or hide. Fans made of the wings of large birds were popular among the Plains Indians, and the factor at Fort McKenzie stocked wild turkey wings as a trade item. The subject of this painting may be wearing another trade item in his hair: his forelock appears to be wrapped in brass wire, a common Blackfeet fashion according to Maximilian.

Labels:

genre, portrait

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort McKenzie, Montana