Michael Lehr Antiques
Buy Now

Spring 2025 Unsold Lots

Sun, May 4, 2025 06:00PM EDT
Buy Now   2025-05-04 18:00:00 2025-05-04 18:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : Spring 2025 Unsold Lots https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/spring-2025-unsold-lots-19478
Unsold lots will be available on a first come basis. As always free shipping with $500 or more in purchases which can include auction purchases.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Buy Now Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot
Lot 305

Otter Belt, Kiowa Warrior, Cabinet Card by Bliss

Buy Now
Price
$640

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
No bidding increment
1870s cabinet card portrait of the Kiowa warrior Otter Belt, taken by W.P. Bliss at his Fort Sill, Indian Territory studio. Captured in profile, Otter Belt wears a vest over a white shirt and is adorned with traditional facial paint and a twisted braid decorated with feathers—powerful symbols of his identity and status within the Kiowa community. The soft oval vignette framing emphasizes the solemn dignity and quiet intensity of the subject.

The reverse bears the distinctive imprint of Bliss, who was active at Fort Sill and became known for his extensive photographic documentation of Native peoples during the post–Civil War Indian Wars era. The pencil inscription at top appears to read, “Otter Belt, Comanche Chief,” though the subject is more accurately identified as Kiowa in origin.

An important and visually arresting portrait from the early reservation period, taken at a time when Fort Sill had become a central point of confinement, surveillance, and transition for Plains tribes. Examples of Bliss’s Kiowa portraits—especially of named individuals—are increasingly scarce and highly sought after.

Available payment options

PayPal

Spend $500 or more at our two day auction and all of your SHIPPING IS FREE, buyers to pay insurance if they want it.