Sioux Quilled Buffalo Hide Puberty Robe from the William H. Jensen Collection (ca 1887-1979), Minnesota
thread and sinew-sewn; with 30 thin rows of red, orange, and purple quillwork dotted with tufts of blue wool; quilled roundels with quill-wrapped hide fringe; and tin cones filled with indigo dyed horsehair; cones detail one side of hide, length 57 x width 39 in.
fourth quarter 19th century
William H. Jensen (1886-1960) Jensen was born in St. Paul, MN. By age 7, he was hunting for arrowheads in the family garden on Jensen’s Island in Lake Traverse, near Browns Valley, MN. As a young adult Jensen became committed to understanding the heritage of the Browns Valley area. He worked first as a teacher; later, as a worker and then owner of the Browns Valley grain elevator; and finally, as the owner of the first TV tower in Browns Valley. Despite his busy schedule and his family life, Jensen always found time to work as an amateur archaeologist. Before long he was known for both his excavations and his ethnographic collection.
Jensen’s enthusiasm for anthropology and his discerning eye led to an important accidental discovery. In 1933, when a load of gravel was delivered to his grain elevator, Jensen discovered human bone fragments and a stone tool buried in the gravel. He hurried to the pit, which was located within the city limits in the Plateau Addition of Browns Valleys. With the help of the driver he found the site and began carefully sifting through more gravel, where he discovered additional bones and some flaked-stone tools.Jensen contacted Albert E. Jenks from the University of Minnesota and, in time, dating tests confirmed that the skeletal material was approximately 9,000 years old. This Paleo-Indian skeleton has become known as the Browns Valley Man, most likely he was one of the first Indians to arrive in the Americas from Asia. Brown’s Valley is one of the oldest sites in North America."
Provenance: Property of a Minnesota Collector; Ex William H. Jensen (1886-1960) Collection
Condition
Hide still supple; light quill loss; some fading.
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