Guy
A Fixture
Thorsberg Miniatures
54-014
Mandan Indian, North Dakota 1834
54mm white metal
Sculpted by Martin Hille
Painted by Andreas Strassmeir
11 white metal parts
Mandan Indian, North Dakota 1834
54mm white metal
Sculpted by Martin Hille
Painted by Andreas Strassmeir
11 white metal parts
About Thorsberg Miniatures
The editors of Thorsberg-Miniatures (Andreas Strassmeir, a Museology graduate and Stefan Loewe, a qualified model maker) are already professionally engaged in historical reconstructions and research for museums. But we are also figure enthusiasts who have collected and painted figures over many years for pleasure. Now we have combined hobby and profession to produce our own favourite miniatures, making them available to other discerning collectors for a reasonable price. It is our greatest concern to make our figures historically accurate and in accordance with the current state of academic research. To ensure the greatest possible authenticity, we go the extra mile and often consult reliable experts. This high degree of authenticity concerning our archaeological, historical or ethnological reconstructions is made apparent to the customer through the sources and background information provided in the leaflets included in each kit.
Historical Note:
The Mandan people lived in stockaded villages along the Upper Missouri River. Dome-shaped earth-covered lodges served as their dwellings. Their tribal economy was based on the buffalo hunt and farming, mainly corn, beans, pumpkins and sunflowers. In addition the Mandan acted as middlemen in the trade between the Whites and the other Plains tribes. While there were still nine large Mandan villages at the time of the first encounter with whites in 1738, recurring smallpox- and cholera-epidemics had reduced the number to only two villages at the time of Lewis and Clark in 1804. A devastating smallpox outbreak in 1837 finally destroyed the tribe, only 125 people being said to survive. These joined the Hidatsa tribe. Half of their descendants live nowadays together with the Hidatsa and the Arikara in the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.
The figure is not meant to represent a specific character of the Mandan-people, but is designed after several different portraits by Swiss painter Karl Bodmer, who spent the winter 1833/34 with the tribe. Bodmer captured the Mandan in paint and preserved their memory for future generations shortly before their culture faded away.
The wooden skewers in the hair of the brave stand for wounds suffered in war while the wolves’ tails attached to his heels indicate his warrior status. He proudly displays his weapons, a gun stock war-club reinforced with an iron blade and embellished with brass tacks as well as a bow and arrows in a fine combined bow-case and quiver made of buffalo hide. Our warrior is dressed in war shirt, leggings, moccasins and buffalo-robe. The garments are richly decorated with glass-beads, quill-work and hair-locks.
The Mandan people lived in stockaded villages along the Upper Missouri River. Dome-shaped earth-covered lodges served as their dwellings. Their tribal economy was based on the buffalo hunt and farming, mainly corn, beans, pumpkins and sunflowers. In addition the Mandan acted as middlemen in the trade between the Whites and the other Plains tribes. While there were still nine large Mandan villages at the time of the first encounter with whites in 1738, recurring smallpox- and cholera-epidemics had reduced the number to only two villages at the time of Lewis and Clark in 1804. A devastating smallpox outbreak in 1837 finally destroyed the tribe, only 125 people being said to survive. These joined the Hidatsa tribe. Half of their descendants live nowadays together with the Hidatsa and the Arikara in the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.
The figure is not meant to represent a specific character of the Mandan-people, but is designed after several different portraits by Swiss painter Karl Bodmer, who spent the winter 1833/34 with the tribe. Bodmer captured the Mandan in paint and preserved their memory for future generations shortly before their culture faded away.
The wooden skewers in the hair of the brave stand for wounds suffered in war while the wolves’ tails attached to his heels indicate his warrior status. He proudly displays his weapons, a gun stock war-club reinforced with an iron blade and embellished with brass tacks as well as a bow and arrows in a fine combined bow-case and quiver made of buffalo hide. Our warrior is dressed in war shirt, leggings, moccasins and buffalo-robe. The garments are richly decorated with glass-beads, quill-work and hair-locks.
Above you see the Thorsberg figure as it arrived in the box. The Mandan figure and small parts in a sealed bag are sandwiched between layers of foam in a sturdy box with a color guide box sleeve around the box.
Above you see the four views of the separate cast Mandan head.
Above you can see the four sides of the main torso. The right leg is cast separately and the head dry-fitted down into the neck perfectly.
[ continued in next post ]
