Tombs of Assiniboin Indians on Trees
Engraved by Aubert pere (the father) Printed by Bougeard
Tableau 30. Tombs of Assiniboin Indians on Trees
$1,300.00

Like other Plains tribes such as the Mandan and the Sioux, the Assiniboin characteristically interred their dead on raised platforms or scaffolds on the prairie, or less frequently in the branches of trees, where these were available. The original sketch of this Assiniboin tree burial, made near Fort Union on July 4, 1833, later was developed as a watercolor embellished with luxuriant foliage and a thicket of wild roses.

The peaceful mood of the scene was altered in the subsequent aquatint when the engraver added the sinister figures of three wolves prowling about the base of the scaffold.

Marked variations in specific coloring often are seen in different hand-colored examples of this print.

Of related interest, see other Assiniboin subjects featured in Vignettes XV and XVI and Tableaux 12 and 32.

See Tableau 11 for the depiction of a Sioux funeral scaffold.

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

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