%C2%A9 Anita Fields
Wedding hat, 2018
Anita Fieldsexpand_more
Top hat, feathersexpand_more
The Jane and James Emison Endowment for Native American Artexpand_more 2019.42.2
Not on Viewexpand_more
When delegations of Osage men traveled to Washington, D.C. for negotiations with the United States government in the early 1800s, they often received gifts of top hats and the military regalia. These Osage men were too large to wear these regalia, so Osage women incorporated them into their wedding attire. The regalia was modified to reflect an Osage aesthetic by adding silk ribbon work, finger woven yarn belts, and trade buttons to the coats, as well as brightly colored feather plumes and French ribbons to the hats.
This wedding coat is a contemporary, artistic version of the Osage wedding coat by Osage artist Anita Fields. It references the issues that effect and define modern Osage people: colonization, oil economics, imposed archaic policies and treaties, versus an Osage belief system based on acknowledgement of nature, and a worldview reflecting their creation story.
Details
- Title
- Wedding hat
- Artist Life
- American (Osage/Muscogee Creek), born 1951
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2019.42.2
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
© Anita Fields