Antique Lakota (Teton) Sioux trade cloth leggings circa 1880

Description

Examine a small number of photographs of Teton Sioux from the late 1880s onwards and you will be certain to see well-dressed males wearing distinctive leggings of woolen trade cloth with applied beaded strips in lane-stitch technique.
Of simple rectangular construction, this style of legging seems for many years to have overtaken in popularity the traditional buckskin variant, doubtless due to the increase in availability of imported trade materials. Their construction was copied exactly from the late nineteenth century style of buckskin "chap" style leggings.
Commonly referred to as "list cloth" or "broadcloth", the woolen cloth, (wool warp and weft) from which these leggings were made was manufactured in the northern English woolen mills, available in a range of colors, most commonly navy blue and cochineal red.
The beaded strips are in perfect condition 21” x 1 1/2”. They are augmented by a metal stud at the top and on the side by beads and general service Civil War buttons with Eagle and Shield design. The bottom of the leggings have a series of horizontal stripes inherent in the trade cloth.
These are original, uncleaned in “as found” condition and show smudges, fading, blemishes, early repairs, but overall a beautiful example of the costume of the period. Note that the darning repairs are early repairs with trade wool thread and probably done before the turn of the century.
overall: 32” x 11 1/2”
Bead strip: 21” x 11 1/2