On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Máhchsi-Karéhde, Mandan Man
Karl Bodmer Swiss
Not on view
On a cold winter night, Máhchsi-Karéhde (Flying War Eagle) asked Bodmer to open Fort Clark’s gate, calling the artist Káwa-Kapúska, or "painter" in Mandan. Particularly friendly with Bodmer and Maximilian, he spent many nights in the travelers’ quarters. Bodmer began this portrait on December 23 and was rushed to finish the following day because Máhchsi-Karéhde "had [sold] his eagle wing and his head adornment with the dance." This might refer to another man’s purchase of membership in a special society and its accompanying regalia. Fans made from the wings of eagles, revered birds, were often used in dances witnessed by the travelers. Another esteemed being, the grizzly bear, is evoked in the thirty massive claws strung together to form a necklace, wrapped with an otter-skin circlet and spaced apart with large blue glass beads.
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