Native American Plains Beaded War Shirt, With Three Panels of Beadwork, #794 Sold

Native American IndianBeaded Plains Indian War Shirt794. Description: Native American beaded war shirt Plains Indian with three large panels of bead work, fringe on sides and arms and horse hair dropsDimensions: 21 inches shoulder to shoulder.Condition: Good condition considering its age and use. Plains Indian bead work is a highly evolved art form, with the greatest connoisseurs being Indian people themselves. Although traditional bead work artists did not create with a brush and palette, their creations truly are a fine art. Almost all Plains tribes used beads that they made from animal bones, teeth, or shells. Glass beads, however, which often came from Venice, Italy, began to reach the Plains in the early 1800's. Brought by traders who rode ponies, these so-called pony beads were fairly big, upwards of one-eighth inch in size. Limited to only a few colors (primarily white, blue, black, and red), pony beads tended to inspire large, bulky designs. Seed beads—much smaller and availabl