Parfleche- Painted Rawhide Container

Parfleche- Painted Rawhide Container

Add this brightly painted Parfleche- Painted Rawhide Container to your collection! The crafter created this Parfleche from rawhide, then hand painted a geometric designs on the front in blue, green, red, black, and yellow. On back there are  two stripes in red outlined with black paint. They stitched the bag together with white deerskin leather lacing. The container features deerskin leather lacing closure ties for a secure and traditional fastening.  The container measures approx. 11″ wide x 15″ long.

One of a Kind!

A parfleche (pronounced par‑flesh) is a traditional Native American container made from rawhide. The word comes from the French parer (“to parry or shield”) and flèche (“arrow”), referring to the way the heavy hide could deflect arrows. Rawhide also served as a durable material for shields. To create a parfleche, makers—especially those from the Great Plains region—used untanned animal hide, often buffalo, and decorated the surface with intricate geometric designs painted with natural pigments from plants and minerals. These versatile containers held food, clothing, personal belongings, and important cultural items, and they played an essential role in the mobile lifestyle of many Plains communities, as people could easily carry them on horseback during travel and hunting expeditions.

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