Portrait of Waa-Pa-Shaw – Sioux Chief, Hand-Colored Lithograph c.1838
€ 1 900
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1838
Sheet size
53.7 × 39 cm (21.1 × 15.4 in)
Condition
Fair
Reference
BG-13467-8
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Repaired: Closed tears in margins. Good condition overall for its age. Minor age-toning and light handling wear in the margins. Repaired at three places. Vibrant original hand-coloring preserved.
About this sheet
Waa-pa-shaw, a Sioux chief, a hand-colored lithograph from the History of the Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall, published in Philadelphia by F.W. Greenough and drawn, printed and colored at J.T. Bowen's lithographic establishment, about 1838. The name is lettered "WAA-PA-SHAW", with "A Sioux Chief" beneath it, and the publisher's imprint and copyright line follow.
The portrait is a half-length bust against the blank cream paper. The man's dark hair is brushed forward and curls at the sides of his face, and he wears a blue European-style coat with covered buttons, a yellow vest and a black cravat, in the manner of a delegate at a treaty conference, with a rolled paper or tube at his chest. The face is colored in warm brown and the clothing is shaded in broad washes that fade out at the lower edge.
The McKenney and Hall portraits were largely copied from Charles Bird King's paintings of Indian delegates in Washington, and many of the originals were later destroyed in a fire at the Smithsonian, so the lithographs are the main surviving record of the series.
