cradleboard, unrecorded Ka’igwu artist

Episode 193 Jul-2009, Megan Ampe, Arts and Cultures of the Americas, Africa, and Oceania Intern I’m David Cateforis with another Art Minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. Crafted by women and used to carry babies, Kiowa cradleboards blend utility and artistry. The Spencer collection features a lovely example of a richly embroidered, lattice style cradleboard made by an unknown Kiowa artist before 1905. It is fashioned of a hide cover laced to two narrow pointed boards with crosspieces at the top and bottom creating a lattice. The leather is entirely covered by glass beads carefully embroidered onto its surface. The beadwork forms floral and geometric shapes, and the beaded background on each side of the cradleboard is of a different color. The design’s asymmetrical nature may indicate the maker’s integration of stylistic techniques from the Delaware tribe. Traditional cradleboards, such as this one, helped to reinforce ethnic identity and emphasize women's artistic expression. These exquisite and practical works of art are among the most beautiful expressions of Plains Indian bead design of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With thanks to Megan Ampe for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.