Ethnological Beadwork Collections

WESTERN APACHE BEADED SHIRT

Dates: Mid 19th century
Materials: Buckskin, glass beads, brass buttons
Catalog No.: 87-22-98

This beaded shirt is part of the Guenther Collection. It came to the family around 1920 through trade at a post in Carrizo, Arizona, on the Ft. Apache reservation. Brought in by a woman named Dodzondiski, it had belonged to her father.

Western Apaches applied glass seed beads in narrow bands along collars, yokes and cuffs of their clothing, as opposed to all-over applications common to much Plains beadwork. This type of shirt was modeled after European cuts, and would have been worn only by a wealthy man.