Comanche Indian Statue With Breastplate

It is hard to describe this statue seens it has so much happening. There is an eagle perched on the Indian’s left arm. They could be talking to each other. Seems to be friendly, not fighting. You can see that an animal skin goes behind the Indian and eagle. You can see the edge of the skin below the Indian’s arm and above his knee.

The Indian has a beautiful headdress, so he is an important man. A big spear. The statue is made of resin and then hand painted.

Most interestingly is the breastplate the Indian is wearing.

The Comanches began the tradition of breastplates in 1854. They were made of conch shells. The conch shells were used as ballast in ships. They were loaded onto ships in the Caribbean which were headed to New York. Once in New York traders took them to the Great Plains and traded the conch with the Comanche who used the conch shells to make a breastplate like this. Since the conch shells are fragile, the result was beautiful but not suitable for war. Thus, the conch shell breastplate became the symbol of wealth.