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saddle

Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)

circa 1900

Wood and elk-horn frame covered with hide, beaded flaps attached to pommel and cantle, blue painted stirrups with white bead edging, red stroud inserts, and beaded flaps

45 in x 26 in x 26 in (114.3 cm x 66 cm x 66 cm)

Donated by Dr. and Mrs. Van Kirke Nelson, Kalispell, MT, Trails End Collection

93.225.27

Autry Museum of the American West

Art and Artifacts

Crow woman's saddle, centerfire rigged, wood and elk-horn frame covered with hide and decorated with beadwork, acquired by the Museum 1993. To the tribes of the Great Plains, horses represented both wealth and freedom, and elaborately decorated riding gear was a critical means of cultural expression. Women's saddles were constructed differently from men's, with a wooden framework and high pommels covered in rawhide. The shape of the pommel and wide stirrups were of Spanish origin, but in Crow hands they became a space for eye-catching beadwork that moved with the horse, helping the rider to look her best.

Art of the West (exhibition)

saddlery

beadwork

Plains Indians

women

Art of the West selected works from the Autry Museum / edited by Amy Scott ; foreword by Stephen Aron ; afterword by Brian W. Dippie. page 23

Art of the western saddle a celebration of design, style and grace ; January 22, 2010-July 31, 2010 / American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum ; [Art of the Western Saddle curator, William C. Reynolds] pages 28; 103 (top)