Vase, Chief Shavehead
Decorative Arts and Design
On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Radical Care
During the late nineteenth century, as Indigenous peoples were displaced onto reservations and their land and lifeways denied to them, white settler manufacturers capitalized on their likeness and cultural heritage. In design magazines, living rooms were shown filled with Native baskets, rugs, and ceramics, as well as images of Native people rendered in sculpture, photography, and decorative objects made by white artists.
Grace Young, an artist employed by the woman-owned Rookwood Pottery of Cincinnati, Ohio, was noted for her portraits of Indigenous people. These were often copied from likenesses taken by white photographers, as seen on this vase with the image of an Arapaho individual identified as “Shavehead.” On this amber-hued vase, Young portrayed him as a dignified leader, a design that was particularly attractive to white consumers.
MEDIUM
Glazed earthenware
DATES
ca. 1899
DIMENSIONS
15 1/2 × 6 × 6 in. (39.4 × 15.2 × 15.2 cm)
mount: 15 1/2 × 6 × 6 in. (39.4 × 15.2 × 15.2 cm)
(show scale)
MARKINGS
Impressed on bottom: "[stamp consisting of reversed 'RP' monogram surrounded by 13 flames] / 856 / B"
Incised by hand on bottom, in script: "- Shavehead - / - Arapahoe - "
SIGNATURE
no signature
INSCRIPTIONS
no inscriptions
ACCESSION NUMBER
84.176.4
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jay Lewis
PROVENANCE
Prior to 1984, provenance not yet documented; by 1984, acquired by Jay Lewis and Emma Lewis (Mrs. Jay Lewis) of Flushing, NY; December 20, 1984, gift of Jay and Emma Lewis to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Vase, slender oviform vase with flared neck decorated with portrait of an Indian brave in profile wearing full-feathered headdress and striped blanket in shades of ochre, green, brown and deep orange, on a dark brown ground.
CONDITION: Drilled. Some scratches to glaze, especially lower part of Indian.
CAPTION
Grace Young (American, 1869–1947). Vase, Chief Shavehead, ca. 1899. Glazed earthenware, 15 1/2 × 6 × 6 in. (39.4 × 15.2 × 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jay Lewis, 84.176.4. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.176.4_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 84.176.4_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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This is epic.
I agree, that's a really striking piece. Several works in that room show American artists' (and audiences') interest in Native American art and identity.
Rookwood Pottery was a major American ceramics company of the late 1800s and early 1900s. They produced a series of works decorated with images of Native Americans around the turn of the century. Rookwood's artists used photographs of Native American individuals as source material and they copied the photos to create these decorations.
