Handmade brass peyote button box with diamond stamp and turquoise / Unknown

Essay/Description

Owned by Harding Big Bow (Kiowa). A handmade brass box with stamped designs. The side features a stamped diamond. The top features a piece of turquoise mounted/set at its center. This is surrounded by a peyote cactus button design. The lid lifts off the cylindrical box. Inside is stored the chief peyote atop a bed of sage. The underside has the phrase "Ahasteen" stamped on it.

Curatorial Remarks

"AHASTEEN" is a Navajo name. The top resembles a peyote button. This peyote button box was collected in Oklahoma.

Tags: peyote button box, brass, turquoise, diamond stamp
People: Ahasteen, Navajo
Places: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma
Purpose: peyote meeting

From interviews with Dr. Garrick Bailey, 2018-2020 University of Tulsa, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

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Anthropology Item Information

©Gilcrease Museum

Title(s):

Handmade brass peyote button box with diamond stamp and turquoise

Creator(s):

Unknown

Harding Big Bow (Used by)

Culture:

Native American; Southwest (artist), Kiowa (user)

Date:

20th century

Place:

Oklahoma

Materials/Techniques:

brass, sage, turquoise

Classification:

Ethnographic Objects

Object Type:

Box

Credit Line:

Gift of Pearl Big Bow

Accession No:

69.155

Previous Number(s):

TL1998.28

Department:

Anthropology

Not On View

Dimensions

Overall:

Height: 1 1/2in. (3.8cm)
Length: 2 1/2in. (6.4cm)
Width: 2 1/2in. (6.4cm)

About the Creator(s)

From Gilcrease Museum:

Creator:

Harding Big Bow

Biography:

Mr. Big Bow was a roadman and organizational leader in the Native American Church, having served as the President of the Native American Church of Oklahoma. He was also an easel painter in the Kiowa style. He was the co-organizer of the exhibition project that became "Symbols of Faith and Belief: The Art of the Native American Church" alongside Gilcrease Senior Curator at the time Daniel Swan. After his death, his wife Pearl Big Bow gave his NAC equipment and other objects to Gilcrease Museum. Mr. Big Bow's life work, and art are described in various publications, especially Dan Swan's (1999) "Peyote religious Art", Jackson: University of Mississippi; (1990) Southern Plains Indian Museum and Crafts Center: Symbolic Paintings by Harding Big Bow, Anadarko.

Role(s):

Used by

From Getty's Union List of Artist Names:

Names (all):

Big Bow, Harding

Birth Date:

1921

Death Date:

1997

Nationalities:

Native American

Roles:

Kiowa painter and flute maker, 1921-1997

Gender:

male

Tags and Search Terms

Tags:

boxes (containers), brass, button, container, Convergence of Native Cultures in Northeast Oklahoma: Connecting Ancient to Modern, diamond, handmade, lid, Native American Church, Oklahoma, peyote, sage, southwest, stamping (marking), turquoise

Cite this Page

Unknown. Handmade brass peyote button box with diamond stamp and turquoise. 69.155. 20th century. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/69155 (10/07/2019).

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