This is an astounding, historic and important buffalo horn beaded headdress and one of the best, authentic Native American headdresses to come to the public market in years; from an East Coast Museum collection. The piece is a circa 1870 Sioux War Chief’s feathered headdress war bonnet beaded and quilled. This is an artful and stunningly attractive piece that was collected from the Dakota Sioux and is comprised of buffalo bison horn caps covered with old red stroud selvedge trade clothe on Indian brain-tanned buffalo hide with an amazing feathered adornment and expertly beaded brow band. There are old red stroud clothes, old trade clothe ribbon strips, old wound glass pony trade beads, braided Indian hide strips and mottled turkey feathers as well as plume feathers. The top shows two buffalo bison cap horns with red mineral pigment paint remnants. The front shows a wonderful beaded brow band on Indian brain-tanned buffalo hide showing sinew sewn old-1800’s period glass trade seed beads in a classic geometric pattern. The beads show Cheyenne pink, red white heart, greasy yellow, cobalt and greasy light blue. The plume feathers show some quillwork adornment with natural green dyes. This piece is fairly rare in that it shows a feathered trailer over the old selvedge trade clothe and buffalo hide, truly stunning. This is considered a fairly elaborate example, a piece such as this would have been worn by a War Chief or high tribal dignitary, examples such as this rarely come to the public market. Provenance: Noted as being collected from a widowed squaw of the Dakota Sioux in the late-19th-Century and is from an East Coast Museum collection where the piece was proudly on display. The piece is on a custom Museum brass display stand with slow speed rotating table used at the museum which shows all sides of the piece. One of the best examples showing little to no bead loss, some paint loss, some dark coloring and patina on the hide, overall a well kept example.