The lot features an outstanding polychrome pictorial painted and beaded Buffalo hide robe from the Mandan Indians of the Fort Berthold Indian Village Upper Missouri River dating to the early 1900’s. The hide consists of an Indian brain tanned and smoked Great American Buffalo Bison hide that was polychrome painted with an exceptional pictorial war scene showing warriors on horseback and foot beating war clubs, tomahawks, war shields, lance spears, bows and arrows done in a traditional ledger drawing like primitive pattern in black mineral paint with accents in a deep red mineral pigment paint. Down the center of the robe is a original beaded strip which consists of geometric beadwork showing a strip with three round medallions done in period correct late 1800’s glass trade pony beads in chalk white and medium blue, padre pound beads in chalk white and medium blue, and solid brass trade beads on Indian hide fringes with rolled tin jingle dangle cones. Each medallion is done on thick Indian tanned hide which is sewn and secured with hoof glue and all the beadwork appears to be sewn with a thicker sinew strand or sinew like strand. The hide shows cuts along the outside edge where it was secured previously. The piece shows the original tail with fur on as well as some fur on the back side. The hide has a worn patina but still shows a supple soft hide with some stiffening. Provenance: From a large American Indian ex-collection in Wyoming and the ex-collection of a private Bozeman, Montana estate. The piece was said to be from the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Indians collected from Fort Berthold Indian Village Upper Missouri River of Dakota Territory and is from the same collection as the circa 1900 Mandan-Arikara Painted Buffalo Robe that was listed for $8,000 back in the NAAC 2015 sale. Condition: Overall the hide is soft with some stiffening, the hide shows hair on the reverse which has some shedding and substantial hair loss, there are a few worn spots from being scraped and original age and use. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Native American peoples were predominately found in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. Unlike other examples, this piece shows a beaded strip down the middle, a truly rare original addition that is striking. This first-to-second-quarter early piece is well preserved and displays beautifully measuring approximately 97" by 92" overall not including the tail.