1st Ed. Karl Bodmer Aquatint - Women of Snake & Cree

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 24, 2022

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• Lot Description
  Karl Bodmer (Swiss-born, 1809-1893). "Woman of the Snake Tribe. Woman of the Cree Tribe." (Tableau 33 from "Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834"); Paris, Coblenz, and London: 1839-1843. A first edition, hand-colored aquatint engraving after Karl Bodmer (with a Bodmer blind stamp at the lower center) from "Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834" - an ambitious project that provided a detailed record of many Native American tribes encountered by Bodmer and explorer Prince Maximilian of Wied (1782-1867) during their expedition across the American West. Bodmer is famous for his incredibly accurate depictions of the ways of life of native peoples - including the Mandan, Hidatsa, Sioux, Assinoboine, Plans Cree, Gros Ventres, and Blackfoot tribes - prior to the invention of photography in the 19th century, while Prince Maximilian collected artifacts, recorded his observations, and transcribed interviews of the Native Americans. Size of sheet: 18.25" L x 24.75" W (46.4 cm x 62.9 cm) Size of matte: 22.3" L x 26.375" W (56.6 cm x 67 cm)
  
  This composition features a fine double portrait created from Bodmer's two individual portraits executed at Fort Union and Fort McKenzie. The figure on the left represents a Shoshone (or Shoshoni) woman who was the wife of Marcereau, a fur company employee based at Fort McKenzie. Bodmer sketched her in 1833. Several Shoshone women who had been captured by the Blackfeet from their home territory west of the Rocky Mountains were reportedly at the Fort. On the right is a Cree woman who was married to Deschamps, a hunter who had been employed by the fur company. Bodmer sketched her in October 1833 at Fort Union when the party was relocating from Fort Mckenzie back down to Fort Clarke for the winter. Note the striated, blue-black tattoos/face paint adorning her chin. These patterns were quite characteristic of the Cree.
  
  Karl Bodmer's works demonstrate his immense technical virtuosity and during their day provided a detailed image of a previously little known (and unfortunately not long for this world) way of life. Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867) invited Bodmer to create a visual record of his travels in North America, primarily to learn more about the Plains Indians in this era prior to the invention of the camera. The pair along with David Dreidoppel, the Prince's hunting companion and servant, traveled from 1832 to 1834. They landed in Boston in July 1832, then traveled to Philadelphia, where Napoleon Bonaparte's elder brother Joseph hosted them. Next, they headed west via Pennsylvania across the Alleghenies to Pittsburgh and the Ohio country, all the while visiting important German settlements - the utopian colony of New Harmony in Indiana being a particularly important stop. It was there that the Prince spent five months in the company of some of the countries leading experts, and studied informative literature about the American frontier. On March 1833, the party reached St. Louis, Missouri, and set off on their journey to meet and learn about Native Americans.
  
  The trio left St. Louis aboard the steamer known as Yellow Stone on April 10, 1833. Proceeding up the perilous Missouri River following the line of forts established by the American Fur Company, they first met Native Americans at Bellevue; next, they met the Sioux peoples, all the while learning everything they could and recording the little known ceremonial dances and customs. Next, they transferred from the Yellow Stone to the Assinboine steamer, and continued to Fort Clark, visiting the Mandan, Crow, and Mintari tribes, and then the Assinboins at Fort Union, which was the primary base of the American Fur Company. They next boarded a smaller vessel to travel through the geological region of that section of the Missouri to Fort Mackenzie in Montana, where they cautiously established a friendship with the legendarily fierce Blackfeet. This was their westernmost point, as it was considered much too dangerous to continue on. Hence, they returned downstream, and the winter months presented their own set of challenges. However, Bodmer continued to create magnificent studies of the peoples, dances, and villages.
  
  Inscriptions: "Tab. 33" (upper right); "Peint d'apres nat. par Ch. Bodmer. / Coblenz bei J. Holscher " (lower left); "Imp. De Bougeard. / Schlangen Indianerinn. / Indienne Serpent. / Woman of the Snake Tribe" (left portrait titles); "Crih-Indianerinn. / Indienne Crih. / Woman of the Cree Tribe." (right portrait titles) / "London published by Ackermann & Co. 96 Strand" followed by Bodmer blind stamp (lower center); "Grave par P. Legrand. / Paris Arthus Bertrand, editeur." (lower right)
  
  Provenance: private Colorado Collection; Private Collection of a Private Colorado Family
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #169960

  Condition

  This first edition aquatint engraving is set in a protective matte, but it may be removed if desired. The aquatint engraving shows expected age wear with normal toning, a few stains, and nicks and crease marks to the peripheries (that do not impact the image). Imagery and coloring are still vivid, and there is a nice Bodmer blind stamp at the bottom center that is visible when the matte is lifted.
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