Traveling object – Horse Mask

This is a Northern Plains Blackfeet Horse Mask from our Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Collection. It will be traveling to the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, along with several other museum objects for the exhibition “The Plains Indians.”

The Horse Mask is made out of a tanned buffalo hide with brass tacks, wood, trade ribbons, trade cloth, and glass beads, and is painted with ochre.

The mount is made out of brass and plexi glass. Once the object is fitted on the mount, it appears to be floating, which was the effect the curator wanted.

Object: Horse mask, nineteenth century. Blackfeet, Northern Plains. The Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Collection, acquired through the generosity of the Dyck family and additional gifts of the Nielson Family and the Estate of Margaret S. Coe. NA.403.215