Headdress

Headdress

Tecumseh

“David Ross McCord acquired this Iroquois headdress in the belief that it had been worn by the famous Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, born in 1768 and killed in 1813 at the Battle of Moraviantown. This rare headdress comprises a complete deer-head skin with antlers, eagle feathers, porcupine quills and red ochre. Though we cannot be certain that McCord's attribution is correct, numerous stylistic elements suggest that the headdress is indeed Iroquois. The form of the headband and cap resemble those of the 19th-century Iroquois man's headdress called a gostoweh. In Iroquois tradition, antlered headdresses are worn by chiefs.”

McCord Museum

Headress