Robes of Splendor

For centuries, ornamental robes made of buffalo hide were painted by the artists of the many American Indian tribes. In the 18th century many of these ornate robes were brought from America to the French court and were eventually displayed in the Museum of Mankind in Paris. The buffalo hides illustrated in this book have never appeared in published form and represent an extraordinary collection - a tribute to a lost art form. The robes offer an incomparable pictographic representation of early Native American life. Where women tended to paint abstract, geometric patterns, men painted narrative scenes of battles and dances. Both artistic forms played an important role in carrying messages for tribe members and outsiders, and both have powerful visual impact.