pair of beaded moccasins

unrecorded Cheyenne artist, artist

pair of beaded moccasins, late 1800s–1915

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: buckskin; rawhide; beading

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 8.5 x 10.5 x 26 cm
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 3 3/8 x 4 1/8 x 10 1/4 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 2007.3787.a,b

Not on display

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Collection Cards: Collect

During her trip to California in 1915, Sallie Casey Thayer purchased numerous Native American art objects; this pair of Cheyenne beaded moccasins entered the collections of the University of Kansas as part of Thayer’s massive 1917 gift. The moccasins, along with a number of other Native American objects donated by Thayer, were transferred from the art museum to the anthropology division at the University’s Natural History Museum in 1958, and then to the new KU Museum of Anthropology in 1979. However, it seems that one of the moccasins remained in the art museum, where it was featured in special exhibitions. Physically separated between art and anthropology at KU, this pair of moccasins speaks to the imperialist history of collecting objects by European Americans. When the Museum of Anthropology closed, a portion of the collections were transferred back to the Spencer Museum of Art in 2007, reuniting this pair.

Do you think these moccasins belong in an art museum, anthropology museum, or somewhere else?

How do distinctions among types of museums influence our understanding of these moccasins and the people who created them?

Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU

Separated by art and anthropology for about half a century, this pair of beaded moccasins speaks to the history of collecting and categorizing, primarily by European Americans. Among numerous Native American works purchased by Sallie Casey Thayer during a trip to California in the spring of 1915, and possibly from her visit to the Panama Pacific International Exposition, this pair of beaded moccasins entered the collections of the University of Kansas as part of Thayer’s 1917 gift to form an art museum. According to inventory records, the moccasins—along with a number of other Native American objects including others donated by Thayer—were transferred from the art museum to the division of anthropology at the University’s Natural History Museum in 1958, and then again to the new KU Museum of Anthropology after its founding in 1979. However, one of the moccasins remained in the art museum where it was featured in special exhibitions. When the Museum of Anthropology closed, a portion of the collections were transferred to the Spencer Museum of Art in 2007, a return for the Native American art donated by Thayer and a reunion for this pair of moccasins.

Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU

Separated by art and anthropology for about half a century, this pair of beaded moccasins speaks to the history of collecting and categorizing, primarily by European Americans. Among numerous
Native American works purchased by Sallie Casey Thayer during a trip to California in the spring of 1915, and possibly from her visit to the Panama Pacific International Exposition, this pair of beaded moccasins entered the collections of the University of Kansas as part of Thayer’s 1917 gift to form an art museum. According to inventory records, the moccasins—along with a number of other Native American objects including others donated by Thayer—were transferred from the art museum to the division of anthropology
at the University’s Natural History Museum in 1958, and then again to the new KU Museum of Anthropology after its founding in 1979. However, one of the moccasins remained in the art museum where it was featured in special exhibitions. When the Museum of Anthropology closed, a portion of the collections were transferred to the Spencer Museum of Art in 2007, a return for the Native American art donated by Thayer and a reunion for this pair of moccasins.

Tap the image and swipe to view the railroad receipt from 1915, documenting the shipment of Native American works purchased by Sallie Casey Thayer in California. These moccasins likely were part of this shipment.