Das indianische Lederzelt im Ethnologischen Museum Berlin – Provenienz, Interpretation und Präsentation des populärsten Objektes der Berliner Nordamerika-Sammlung

Abstract

The Berlin “leather tent” (hide tipi) is the most popular object in the North American section of Berlin’s Ethnological Museum. Collected around 1840 by Friedrich Köhler, valet of the French ambassador in Washington, DC, the tipi was acquired by Berlin’s Royal Museums in 1845 as part of his larger collection from North America and Hawaii. The especially richly painted cover of the tipi and its rather small size caused all kinds of interpretations and speculations about its possible religious significance. Frederick Weygold, a German-American artist who had studied the Sioux language and culture, interpreted it in 1903 as being connected to the mythical figure of White Buffalo Calf Woman of the Lakota-Sioux. Since the central design on the back of the tipi shows a Peace Pipe or Calumet, most curators were convinced that the tipi was meant as a shelter for keeping a Sacred Pipe Bundle. This article tells the story of the various interpretations of the tipi and how it was presented in the different museum locations since 1845. The author also challenges the interpretation as a sacred structure as Eurocentric and argues that the tipi has to be seen in a complete different light. Besides this, the history of the tipi also reflects the history of the museum in general and can be seen as a symbol of its eventful development from the middle of the 19th century until today.

[Painted Tipis, Plains Indian art, Frederick Weygold, White Buffalo Calf Woman, Sacred Pipe, museum history, object history, history of conservation]