Mato-Tope, a Mandan Chief
Engraved by Hurlimann Printed by Bougeard (unavailable - please enquire)
Tableau 13. Mato-Tope, a Mandan Chief
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Painted at Fort Clark by George Catlin in 1832, and by Karl Bodmer in 1834, Mato-Tope was a highly respected Mandan chief widely known for his military exploits, Prince Maximilian admired him greatly, not only for his reputed bravery, but also for his obvious intelligence, generosity, and knowledge of the history and customs of the Mandan and neighboring tribes on the Missouri frontier.

Two of Bodmer's portraits of Mato-Tope, or "Four Bears," were reproduced in the European atlas as Tableaux 13 and 14. In the first, he is shown dressed in formal regalia signifying his important rank. His shirt of bighorn sheepskin is elaborately trimmed with ermine tails, locks of hair, and long strips of quillwork outlined in beads. The red marks on the front represent old war wounds, the symbols painted on the shoulders, brave deeds.

The number of feathers worn in a warrior's hair usually denoted battle coups. Mato-Tope's large headdress, with its long trailer of eagle feathers, probably signified the combined coups of an entire war party or those of a men's warrior society. The lance held in his right hand may be the same as the weapon earlier described by Catlin, who said it was used by Mato-Tope to kill an Arikara who had murdered his brother, its shaft afterward being decorated with the enemy's scalp, stretched on a hoop.

Mato-Tope himself was something of an artist, representing his battle deeds on his body, his clothing, and on buffalo robes. One such robe was reproduced with other artefacts in Tableau 21.

A colored drawing by Mato-Tope, which he presented to Maximilian, is included in the Maximilian-Bodmer collection at Joslyn. It was featured as Tableau 22 in the published series.

Text by David Hunt, Director, Stark Museum, Orange, Texas, USA

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