This is an outstanding polychrome painted parfleche war shield attributed to the Crow Native American Indians in Colorado of the 19th Century. The shield is thought to date to the mid-1800s. It has a concave shape and was carved from the shoulder hump of a Buffalo Bison, which was then wetted and stretched and allowed to parfleche. These types of thin, concave shaped Indian shields that are cut from the shoulder hump of a Buffalo have been documented as noted and shown in John Baldwin’s 2003 book, “Indian Shields, Guns and Spears of the American Frontier”. These thinner parfleche shields that nearly seem translucent were also known to be used for ceremonial and dance purposes. The shield, which holds the original arm strap still attached on the back, shows a polychrome mineral pigment painted finish with predominately medium green background on the front and a large round red spot at the center, framed in black with an additional line in yellow and black and further accented by seven yellow circular spots evenly spaced. Some of the paint has worn off and faded over time, exposing the parfleche brown hide coloring. There is a Buffalo tail tied on with a brass thimble on the left side of the shield. The John Baldwin book also shows an example of a similar shield attributed to the Crow that also has a Buffalo tail attached to the front left side and is shown for comparison. Speculatively, the tail tied to the shield may indicate a membership in an Indian “society”, a sub culture of tribal affiliation, such as the Hunkpapa’s, Dog Soldiers, etc. The piece is a nice Indian Wars example that has been nicely preserved. Provenance: From the ex-collection of Cyrus Eaton of London, England. The shield is 23 inches across.