Embroidered with small glass pearls. A pair of moccasins of the Lakota Sioux from the central plains of North America. The upper part made of sort deer hide, the soles of harder buffalo hide. The deer hide upper parts of both moccasins are richly decorated with colourful small glass pearls, white, green, red and blue. The ‘lazy stitch’ technique is used, whereby the glass pearls are threaded onto thin string and these strings then tightly lined. These tightly laid out pearl chains and finally stitched at interval to the underlying leather. The present pair of moccasins shows the typical decorative motifs of the Lakota Sioux: the dominant red-green tip up above evoke the characteristic motif of the ‘buffalo trace’ and distinguishable along each side are 5 blue-red ‘step pyramids’ on white background. The shoes’ upper rims and the tongues are covered in colourful glass pearls. Long decorative deer leather bands (17 cm) stretch back from the open heels. This pair of Lakota Sioux moccasins is in an astonishingly good condition. There is only a small tear in the tongue of the left shoe and only very few missing glass pearls. Otherwise no damage. With good usage patina on the buffalo leather sole underneath and on the inside. Length: each 28 cm (moccasins without fringes); width: each 9 cm (sole width). Late 19th to early 20th century. (ME)

Provenance:
Austrian Private Collection.