By Marilyn Bauer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Local collector John Painter has been collecting North American Indian artifacts for more than 35 years. He's crossed continents in search of the highest quality, handcrafted dress and adornment. His collection of more than 400 objects is superb. Sixty-five pieces, including clothing, accessories and jewelry made of both native and imported materials, are in the show at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

"It is one of the premier collections in the world," says curator Glenn Markoe. "In the process of aggressively developing his collection, Mr. Painter has become very knowledgeable about Indian art. It's rare to have a collector develop such a scholarly interest in his collection and its historical context."

"I found out being a collector who does research and finds out about what he's collecting is a lot more fun than just buying things," says Mr. Painter.

Like Uncommon Legacies, the Painter show is made up of rare, early pieces, many dating to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The objects are captivating - from the pipes to the women's dresses to the men's leggings and moccasins.

"When I started collecting I decided to have a date that I wouldn't buy anything later than," explains Mr. Painter. "I chose June 25, 1876, the Battle of Little Big Horn. Some people call it a fluorescence of Indian culture and life. Soon after, all the Indians were on reservations and had different lifestyles and outlooks. The items produced before 1876 are very different than those made later."

British influence

A Cree men's costume from 1870 is elaborately decorated with porcupine quills, fish roe dyes pressed into the rawhide with bone, dyed horsehair and glass beads. It is one of only 16 of its kind.

"The ensemble is extremely rare, only missing the moccasins," says Dr. Markoe.

"And it stands out as the absolute finest (together with an example in the Museum of Ireland in Dublin). It is also the only one that retains its original leggings. . . .

"The European cut of the coat reflects the influence of a British military uniform - especially in the decorated shoulder flaps, which imitate epaulets."

The coat was owned by Edward Barwick, a British military officer who campaigned in America and brought the coat back to England after the War of 1812.

"Foreign influence," continues Dr. Markoe, "can also be seen in the use of imported metal in the tin cone dangles and, above all, in the use of brass buttons bearing the emblem of the Hudson Bay Company, a major outlet for the British and French fur trade in Canadian North America."

Mr. Painter bought the ensemble in October 1991 from Janet Farrar of Leeds, England. Miss Farrar's great-grandmother was a Barwick before marriage.

Gender lines

The Painter collection was meant to complement the Peabody Essex display, and it does so very well. It contains a great many articles of clothing, among them a spectacular war shirt, a range of men's leggings and a wonderful series of women's and girl's dresses.

Relatively few examples of clothing and accessories are exhibited in the Peabody Essex show, which largely contains artifacts of carved stone, and wood and smaller clothing items.

What is also interesting is that Dr. Markoe, with Mr. Painter, has designed the exhibition (and the accompanying catalog written by Mr. Painter and designed by local artist Noel Martin) along gender lines. Most American Indian shows tend to integrate the material and group clothing and artifacts solely by type. This show is one of the few to look at Indian dress in gender context.

"Scholars have become increasingly interested in looking at dress in its context as ensemble and full body adornment," says Dr. Markoe, "rather than as isolated decorative items."

Looking deeper

Mr. Painter's collection of jewelry includes shoulder-length earrings made from dentalium and abalone shells, a Kiowa (1850) hair drop - an ornament worn fastened to the back of a man's head and extending almost to the ground - made from German silver conchas attached to buffalo hide, and a grizzly bear claw necklace where the 30 claws are partially covered with an otter pelt and decorated with Venetian beads.

Mr. Painter began collecting because he was interested in history. A business trip to Fort Smith, Ark., where he attended a rodeo sparked his passion for Indian objects. He started by collecting stone items, then sold his collection to concentrate on other areas.

"I couldn't tell a fake one from a real one, so I sold mine," he says. "But I had the bug and began reading and going to museums to learn more. I soon determined there were many more items in the back rooms than were on display. It was really fun to get in the back rooms."

We should be glad he did.