Chief Joseph war shirt auctions for $877,500

RENO, Nev. – A war shirt worn by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe sold Saturday for $877,500 at auction, organizers said.

Mike Overby, an organizer of the annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, said the shirt that sold in Reno is considered to be one of the most important Native American artifacts to ever come to auction. It had been expected to bring $800,000 to $1.2 million at auction, he said.

“Anything associated with Chief Joseph is highly desirable, and that’s a pretty special shirt,” he said.

Chief Joseph wore the shirt in 1877 in the earliest known photo of him, and again while posing for a portrait by Cyrenius Hall in 1878. That painting, which was used for a U.S. postage stamp, hangs in the Smithsonian.

The poncho-style war shirt was made of two soft skins, likely deerskin. It features beadwork with bold geometric designs and bright colors. Warriors kept such prestigious garments clean in a saddle bag on their horse or carefully stored while in camp, to be worn only on special occasions, American Indian scholar Theodore Brasser noted.

The shirt surfaced at an Indian relic show in the 1990s and was sold without any knowledge of its link to the photo and portrait. It changed hands again before the connection was discovered.

Its quality makes it desirable for collectors, but it’s the “surprising discovery of the shirt’s role in history that reveals its true importance,” Brasser said.