Gourd rattle with beaded wooden handle / Delbert Johnson

Essay/Description

A gourd rattle with a horse hair tassel and gourd stitch socket at its tip. The handle is or dark (tropical?) hardwood. It is partially beaded in gourd stitch technique just below the gourd and at the base of the handle. Cut and seed beads in black, white, red, orange, yellow, green, medium blue, and maroon on a light blue background. There are 12 2-ply twisted fringes of white buckskin attach at the base of the handle.

Curatorial Remarks

Gourd peyote rattle with beaded wooden, carved handle and leather fringe. The handle is carved with a bulbous middle. The handle may be ebony or a stained wood.

Tags: Native American Church, leather fringe, wooden handle, gourd peyote rattle, beadwork, horsehair
Places: Oklahoma
Purpose: peyote meeting,

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

You may be interested in...

Peyote Design

Stephen Mopope

Dangerous Jokes

Silver stamped button with a scallop edge design and a central pattern

Anthropology Item Information

©Gilcrease Museum

Title(s):

Gourd rattle with beaded wooden handle

Creator(s):

Delbert Johnson (Artist)

Harding Big Bow (Used by)

Culture:

Native American; Navajo (Diné) (artist), Kiowa (user)

Date:

20th century

Place:

North America

Materials/Techniques:

gourd, wood, glass, horse hair

Classification:

Ethnographic Objects

Object Type:

Rattle

Credit Line:

Gift of Pearl Big Bow

Accession No:

84.2903

Previous Number(s):

TL1997.73.10

Department:

Anthropology

Not On View

Dimensions

Overall:

Length: 24in. (61.0cm)
Width: 2in. (5.1cm)

About the Creator(s)

From Gilcrease Museum:

Creator:

Delbert Johnson

Role(s):

Artist

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

Cite this Page

Johnson, Delbert. Gourd rattle with beaded wooden handle. 84.2903. 20th century. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/842903 (08/06/2019).

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.

Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Gilcrease Museum

The World’s Largest Collection of Art and Artifacts of the American West