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Idols of the Mandan Indians

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Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Idols of the Mandan Indians
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.

Idols of the Mandan Indians

Artist (Swiss, 1809 - 1893)
Author (1782 - 1867)
Date1832-1834
MediumHand-colored aquatint
Dimensions23 1/2 × 17 1/4 in. (59.7 × 43.8 cm)
ClassificationsPrint
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2009.26.25
Accession number 2009.26.25
DescriptionDisbound from folio atlas volume of forty-eight plates
On View
Not on view
ProvenanceAuthor; to Frederick Schuchart, NY, 1844; (William Reese Company, New Haven, CT); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2009
Label TextThis scene was sketched by Bodmer during the expedition’s return trip, while they stayed at Fort Clark from November 1833 to April 1834. Prince Maximilian saw several different Mandan effigies next to the tribe’s burial ground. The one rendered by Bodmer was made of two tall poles. Each was wrapped with hide and decorated with feathers and sacred symbols. The sacred figures symbolized two of the most important Mandan deities: the Lord of Life and The Old Woman Who Never Dies. These gods were associated with the growing of corn and the preservation of the buffalo herds. According to Maximillian’s journal, no major personal decisions or actions affecting the life of the tribe were made without first consulting these sacred totems. This usually involved fasting, offerings, or sacrifices. Interestingly, the original watercolor version depicts a daytime setting. Bodmer perhaps chose an evening scene with a rising moon in the background for his aquatints to achieve a heightened sense of the supernatural. The horse and rider figures and other details of the village were not included in the watercolor and were added later in the print.