North American Auction Company
Live Auction

Native Roots & Western Trails: A Historic Heritage Auction: June 21st, 2025

Sat, Jun 21, 2025 11:00AM EDT
  2025-06-21 11:00:00 2025-06-21 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : Native Roots & Western Trails: A Historic Heritage Auction: June 21st, 2025 https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/native-roots-western-trails-a-historic-heritage-auction-june-21st-2025-19773
Join us for "Native Roots & Western Trails: A Historic Heritage Auction" on June 21st, 2025, featuring nearly 800 curated lots of early Native American artifacts, masterful beadwork, rare 19th-century Navajo textiles, frontier collectibles, and select Western and antique treasures spanning centuries of American history.
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Lot 203

19th C. Northern Cheyenne Beaded & Quilled Bowcase

Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000
Starting Bid
$3,500

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
The lot features an excellent 19th-century beaded and quilled bowcase, quiver, bow and arrow set from the Northern Cheyenne ex-Forest Fenn collection. The piece exhibits Indian tanned body that is sinew sewn with frilly Indian hide fringes and adorned with artful sections of beadwork, consistent with other Northern Cheyenne examples. The beadwork shows all glass trade seed example, sinew sewn with an hour glass and Maltese cross design in colors of light blue, cobalt, corn yellow, red white heart and medium blue. There is beadwork on the opening and end of the quiver as well as the opening and end of the bow sheath. There are two drops with strips of parfleche rawhide wrapped in porcupine quill quillwork with a red coloring. The piece shows the original Indian tanned shoulder strap with nice patina and stiffening from age. The bowcase is paired with a nice 1800’s Northern Cheyenne or Northern Plains carved and painted wooden bow with sinew string attached. The bow has several bands of red painted mineral pigment ocher / ochre with remnants of yellow ochre / ocher. The bow has an excellent rich patina. There is a wooden rode with the end covered in hide, sinew sewn and showing porcupine quill quillwork braided in red with a red dyed horsetail hair drop that is also braided hanging off the end. The collection is accompanied by three arrows, two contemporary and one older Plains arrows with metal arrowhead tips wrapped in red / brown painted ends with Turkey feather fletching. The bowcase and quiver is stunning and has been professionally preserved with little bead loss and nice slightly stiffening but still supple hides. Provenance: From the ex-collection of Forest Fenn. Measures overall 60-inches long from the back of the strap to the bottom of the fringe by 59-inches wide from the outside of the bow to the outside of the bow fringe. Bow is 45.5-inches long and the arrows are about 28.75-inches (longest).

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