Hand-colored lithograph, Chief Ne O Mon Ni, Ioway, McKenney Hall 1865

This historical art print (hand-colored lithograph) shows a portrait painting of the significant chief and warrior Ne-O-Mon-Ni of the Ioway tribe, originally titled Ne-O-Mon-Ni An Ioway Chief, based on a masterful work by the famous American portrait painter Charles Bird King. The valuable print comes from the ethnographic masterpiece "History of the Indian Tribes of North America" by Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall, which was originally published in the 19th century. The detailed depiction features the traditional clothing of the indigenous leader, a magnificent headdress, a pipe in his hand, and an official peace medal (Indian Peace Medal), which the chief proudly wears around his neck. The image is based on an original oil painting from 1837, which was commissioned by the US Department of War in Washington D.C. Since the original paintings were tragically completely destroyed in 1865 during a major fire at the Smithsonian Museum, these hand-colored prints represent the only remaining visual record today.

This antique item is an original hand-colored lithograph from the smaller octavo editions starting in 1848. On the sheet itself, the text RICE, RUTTER & CO. Publishers can be clearly recognized on the bottom right, which proves that this specimen comes from the octavo edition from circa 1865 to 1870. On the bottom left, the historical catalog number No. 82 is also printed. Ne-O-Mon-Ni, whose name translates to "The Cloud Walker," was known as a fearless warrior who, despite his reputation as an uncompromising defender of his land, led a diplomatic delegation to Washington in 1837 to secure the survival of his tribe through peace talks. The historical original sheet is presented by an elegant red mat, in which the document was intentionally not glued. The antiquity shows light age-appropriate spots, a natural darkening on the right edge of the sheet, fine foxing on the back, and an old water stain on both the top right and bottom right corners, but overall it is in a good, authentic condition. The outer dimensions of the mat are exactly 34 x 24 cm with a pure sheet dimension of 26.8 x 17.3 cm.