Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund

This cap was part of Brooklyn Museum curator Stewart Culin's personal collection but was originally owned by Frank Hamilton Cushing as part of his own Zuni clothing that he wore. Cushing's acceptance into the Zuni Bow Society was the culmination of his career. Cushing believed the Bow Priesthood to be the most powerful, elaborately organized of all associations. This cap of perforated buckskin is one of the badges of office in the priesthood. It is exceptionally finely crafted.

The original Jarvis (the collector) inscription reads "Indian pipe Uppo Miss." The pipe stem is carved in the shape of an animal. The snout looks too long on this for it to be a dog. Possibly a wolf, coyote or fox. Two brass tacks serve as eyes and the neck and lips are fire-decorated. There was originally some bone hair trim; a bird scalp and blue feathers still remain near the center. The stem is painted red and blue-green.

This collar is richly decorated with claws (bear's?) and fur appendages wrapped with quillwork and yarns. It might have been used for the singer to attract the Hoply People.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Blum

Bequest of W.S. Morton Mead

This blanket is very early and possibly Tshimshin in origin. Ceremonial blanket with black, blue, yellow and white design probably the "Diving Whale." The head of the whale with his nostrils is at the bottom, the center face is his body with his 'spirit' inside it, the tail flukes are spread out on lower section also with eyes inside. The front flukes flank the head.The side panels (not shown in photograph) are probably a young raven. Although very worn this is a very finely woven, old robe with no commercial elements in it. There is an artist signature in the weaving by the side fringe. This is possibly the same robe depicted in G.T Emmons, "The Chilkat Blanket," AMNH Memoirs, Vo. 111. part 1V, fig. 568B. Source for design and weaving information, Cheryl Samuels, "The Chilkat Blanket," Pacific Search Press, Seattle, 1982. See also her dedication page where signature of weaver is given , appears to be the same as this blanket.

The backs, thumbs, and cuffs of these mittens are decorated with porcupine quillwork in a delicate curvilinear and geometric design complex that was originally colored bright blue, red, white, and purple. The cuff is decorated with a scalloped quillwork line in red and green and a horizontal border in registers of red, blue and green with white and purple diamonds running through it. On the front of the mitten (the back side of the wearer's hand) is a stylized, four petaled, red flower with two secondary tri-lobed flowers, represented by blue outlines and three heart-shaped petals that emerge from the center of the red flower. Four curvilinear green and white lines emerge from the center of this red flower and they in turn terminate in flowers with three-pointed petals of red, blue, and purple. This is referred to as "turning swastika-like cross petals design." On the same side of the mitten, closest to where the thumb is on the reverse, is a quilled strip of red and purple diamonds, bordered in white and placed on a band-like field of blue and red. On the thumb itself is a pattern of three flowers combined, a red one at the center and a blue and white one on each side. This motif is placed above a four-lobed linear representation of a red flower, very similar to the large one on the other side of the mitten. There is evidence the mittens once had a fur strip edging. The mittens have a printed cloth lining, patterned with a brownish green leafy or paisley design on a natural ground. The pattern is not meant to show as it is faced into the inside of the mittens. See Jarvis supplemental file Arts of Americas office.

The slightly curved steel blade of the knife is bound to the well-round bone (?) handle by a worked sheet of brass. This brass is finished in a series of little points at the handle end and incised with series of simple lines, both parallel and diagonal, to form bands. The sheath for this knife is worked with porcupine quills in purplish brown, orange, yellow, and natural white in a motif of connecting diamonds. The body of the sheath has an orange triangle with "V" shaped outlines at the very bottom, below the pattern of connected diamonds. The panel or cuff is striped. Many metal cones are suspended from the bottom of the cuff and one single cone, or tinkler is suspended from the bottom tip of the sheath. These 'tin-tinklers' on the panel were once quill-wrapped.The leather is thread sewn so that beige ribbon adorns the panel or cuff.

Pack saddle made from elk horns fastened together with buffalo hide stretched over it.