The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2024

Cradle or Baby Carrier

Cradle or Baby Carrier

c. 1900
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In the past, young Plains children spent much of their time in cradles, which remain in occasional use today.

Description

Many Plains peoples hold lavishly quilled or beaded cradles in high esteem—they bestow spiritual benefits on the infant and prestige and honor on the family and the maker, usually a female relative. Indeed, today and in the past, creating such a cradle is often regarded as equal to counting coup, the ultimate act of male bravery in which a warrior touches an enemy with a stick known as a coup stick. This cradle was held in the arms; others have wooden frames that can be propped against a support, such as a sofa or a tree, to ease the baby’s socialization into the community.
  • Native North America Basket Rotation (Native North America rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 4, 2021-December 4, 2022).
    Gallery 231 - Native North American Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2014-July 29, 2015).
  • {{cite web|title=Cradle or Baby Carrier|url=false|author=|year=c. 1900|access-date=22 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.1047