Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Feather Headdress

Lakota (Teton Sioux)

Not on view

Decorative elements on this double-trailer bonnet illustrate the evolution of the eagle feather headdress. Association with warfare is gone. Instead of the traditional horsehair at the tips of the feathers, white- and rose-colored downy fluff has been added. In place of depictions of spirit helpers, culturally important symbols, such as the pipe and the mythic creature Turtle, are painted on the trailer. Feathered headdresses persist in modern times as universally recognized symbols of leadership and also as stereotypes of all Native peoples.

Feather Headdress, Eagle feathers, native-tanned leather, glass beads, pigment, wool cloth, metal cones, porcupine quills, horsehair, silk ribbon, otter and ermine skin, Lakota (Teton Sioux)

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.