Search ALL sculptures and paintings Login My List - 0 Help
	Search Images   Search   About

Keyword Search History All Catalogs

Search:  General KeywordArtist KeywordSubject Keyword       Refine Search     Return to results > You are only searching: Art Inventories

More Smithsonian Searches     Who else has...     Berke, Ernest,     Arizona Bronze,     Ethnic -- Indian     Figure male -- Full length     Animal -- Horse     Occupation -- Military     Dress -- Ethnic     State of Being -- Death     Outdoor Sculpture -- Tennessee -- Memphis     Sculpture

The Death Song, (sculpture). Artist:  Berke, Ernest, 1921- , sculptor. Arizona Bronze, founder. Title:  The Death Song, (sculpture). Dates:  Cast 1984. Digital Reference:  Medium:  Bronze with brown patina. Dimensions:  Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 8 in.; Base: approx. 1 ft. x 6 ft. x 6 ft. 8 in. Inscription:  Ernest Berke signed Description:  A standing male Teton Sioux, legs shoulder width apart, arms at sides, face lifted. He has feathers in his long hair, a loincloth, a knife tied to his waist, and mocasins. He holds a round shield in his proper left hand and a weapon in his proper right hand. He also wears a long sash which is pinned to the ground with a small lance. At his feet, his exhausted horse lies on its side. The man and his horse are positioned on a roughly circular plinth which has a textured surface. Subject:  Ethnic -- Indian -- Teton Sioux Figure male -- Full length Animal -- Horse Occupation -- Military Dress -- Ethnic -- Indian Dress State of Being -- Death Object Type:  Outdoor Sculpture -- Tennessee -- Memphis Sculpture Owner:  Promus Companies, 1023 Cherry Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38117 Remarks:  Cast no. 2/2. Inscription on nearby plaque reads: THE DEATH SONG/By Ernest Berke/Among the leading tribes of the Central Plains, the Teton Sioux included the/Akicita as one of its more highly developed military societies. The Akicita Society/contains groups which governed the activities of the tribe in military matters, tribe/movements and conduct of the hunters during hunting expeditions./Prominent among the Akicita was the notorious Miwatani Society numbering/approximately twenty members. One characteristic was the custom of two of its/chosen members called the sash wearers, staking themselves to the ground in the/face of an enemy attack./ In this bronze, the warrior standing beside the body of his exhausted pony/prepares to do battle with the foe by singing his "Death Song" and pinning his long sash to the ground with a small wooden lance. This allowed some freedom of action,/but under no circumstances could the sash wearer pull out the lance and retreat. A/retreat would invite scorn from his fellow warriors and the shame of his people. Only/exceptional performance in battle would allow another warrior to remove the lance/and permit the sash wearer to escape from otherwise certain death. References:  Save Outdoor Sculpture, Tennessee survey, 1992. Illustration:  Image on file. Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), July 28, 1985, pg. J1. Note:  The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide. Repository:  Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Control Number:  IAS TN000044   Copy/Holding information Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum Control Number   Inventory of American Sculpture TN000044 Add Copy to MyList Format: HTMLPlain textDelimited Subject:   Email to:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact