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Fan with beaded handle and feather quills wrapped in hide / Ernest Mihecoby

Essay/Description

A loose fan of white tail feathers with black tips and brown horizontal bars, possibly Caracara. Each of the twelve feathers is tipped with white fur possibly from a rabbit and a chicken feather hackle tip, dyed bright pink. At the base of each feather are a series of dyed hackle feather bands (top to bottom) in pink, white, green, and purple. Each feather quill is wrapped in white buckskin (around a wood extension). These buckskin wrappings attach the feathers to the handle and are colored white with shoe polish. The handle is round, made of wood, and covered first in white buckskin and then gourd stitched in seed beads, some of which are cut. The design is executed on a white field. It has variations on zig-zag bands circling the handle. Colors are pink, blue, red, black, and orange. The end of the handle has 12 twisted 2-ply fringe.

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Title(s): 
Fan with beaded handle and feather quills wrapped in hide
Creator(s): 
Ernest Mihecoby (Artist)
Nelson Eddie Big Bow (Artist)
Harding Big Bow (Artist)
Culture: 
Native American; Comanche (artist), Kiowa (artist), Kiowa (user)
Date: 
late 20th century
Materials/Techniques: 
feather, hide, glass
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Credit Line: 
Gift of Pearl Big Bow
Accession No: 
84.2973
Previous Number(s): 
TL1998.26
Department: 
Not On View

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