This version of The War Bonnet is suggested by Sharp's inscription to be "#1." As such, it may be related to two important early teepee interiors, A Gift for Her Brave of 1905 (related image, #79) and The Death Spirit of 1906 (related image, #512). Sharp purchased a large Blackfeet buffalo hide teepee in 1905 and used it as an auxiliary studio for the first of those two related woks.  The rich, soft dark tones in this painting, The War Bonnet, resemble the aura of the companion paintings and a date of ca. 1905 thus seems appropriate for this work.

The figure in this painting is seated on a Navajo chief's blanket, probably the one that decorated the interior of the artist's Absaokee Hut in these years.