Lot 99
Engraver John Harris (British, 1791-1873). After George Catlin (American, 1796-1872). "Nah-pope. (The Soup) A Sac Warrior." engraving with original hand color. From James Cowles Prichard's "The Natural History of Man." Published in London: Hippolyte Balliere, 1840s. "Nah-pope. (The Soup) A Sac Warrior." depicts a Blackfoot warrior and was one of the octavo size images that James Cowles Prichard featured in his book titled "The Natural History of Man" (1848) a pre-Darwinian publication that aimed to categorize the races of the world. The Black Hawk warrior is presented gazing out, his visage adorned with green and red face paint, wearing native dress and holding a white flag with green markings. This portrayal was based on Catlin's direct studies and observations in the field, thus Catlin's portraits are widely considered among the most authentic images of Plains Indians during the nineteenth century. Size (sheet): 8.5" L x 5.5" W (21.6 cm x 14 cm) Size (frame): 23.5" L x 20.5" W (59.7 cm x 52.1 cm)
George Catlin referenced Nah-pope in the following passage from his Letters and Notes, "Muk-a-tah-mish-o-kah-kaik (the black hawk) is the man to whom I have above alluded, as the leader of the 'Black Hawk war,' who was defeated by General Atkinson, and held a prisoner of war, and sent through Washington and other Eastern cities, with a number of others, to be gazed at . . . I believe it has been pretty generally admitted, that 'Nah-pope' and the 'Prophet' were, in fact, the instigators of the war; and either of them with much higher claims for the name of warrior than Black Hawk ever had." (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 56, 1841; reprint 1973)
According to the Philadelphia Print Shop, "Prichard began the research for his study in 1813, intending to establish that the human race originally was all dark-skinned. He modified this view over the years, but still concluded that the human race was all one species, one family. Eventually Prichard gathered all available research about various races of humankind and his work became an important foundation for modern ethnological science. Included in Prichard's History were fine portraits of different human races taken from original drawings of various artists, most notably these by George Catlin. Based on first hand studies made in the field by Catlin, these prints provide us with some of the most authentic images of Plains Indians from the mid-nineteenth century." (source: Philadelphia Print Shop website)
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; Private collection of a Private Colorado Family
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#189749
- Condition: Overall very good, age appropriate condition. Minute nicks to right edge of sheet. Etching is mounted behind glass in an attractive custom frame comprised of museum quality materials.
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