Producer unknown to us
A pair of so-called “ghost moccasins”
Americas, North America, Great Plains
1870–1920
Leather, beadwork, metal, feathers
Erich Hösel (professor and sculptor) probably acquired the moccasins during his trip to the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904
Sold to the museum by Herta Hösel in 1962
NAm 4740 a, b
This pair of moccasins has beadwork in abstract patterns on the uppers and soles. Moccasins that have beads embroidered not only on their upper side but also on the soles are also called “ghost moccasins.” The German name “Geistertanzmokassins” (Ghost Dance Moccasins) is misleading because the shoes could not be worn for dancing without destroying the embroidery on the sole. There are indicators that such decorations were made for funeral ceremonies – which is probably why the shoes are sometimes referred to as “ghost moccasins.” Between the 1870s and the 1920s, in particular among the Sioux, there was a sudden increase in elaborate beadwork on leather clothing and household items. Scholars have considered this a (re)affirmation of the cultural self-confidence of Indigenous women makers in times of existential crises.
These moccasins were part of sculptor Erich Hösel’s (1869–1953) estate. He had worked at the Porcelain Manufacture Meissen for many years. He visited the St. Louis World’s Fair (1904) which sparked a lifelong artistic interested in the Indigenous North America in him. On this trip, he acquired a number of ethnographic objects of Indigenous communities and subsequently became active in German networks of collectors, for example, in the Karl May Museum in Radebeul. By purchasing his estate in 1962, the Leipzig Museum was able to partially replace its wartime losses in the North America collection.
Frank Usbeck