Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Three Villages Robe
Not on view
The painting on this robe tells a story of a battle, a ceremony, and the alliance of the Quapaw and the French against the Chickasaw Nation. Across the bottom border, domed lodges represent the three major Quapaw villages on the Arkansas River. A thin line, presumably the path of the Quapaw war party, extends from the farthest village, through the other two, and toward a French settlement called the Arkansas Post. From there, the line continues to the battle represented on the opposite side of the robe, in which seven Quapaw warriors confront the enemy. Depicted above the villages is the ceremony following the battle.
This robe embodies the connection between French and Native peoples. It is unknown whether the garment was commissioned by the French or presented to them by the victorious Quapaw to commemorate the event.
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