Portrait head of Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak (also known as Black Hawk)

1837

Painted plaster

Overall: 12 1/4 × 7 × 8 1/2 in. (31.1 × 17.8 × 21.6 cm)

Purchase, General Fund

1946.360

The Sauk warrior Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak distinguished himself in 1832 when he led efforts to repel American settlers from tribal lands. In 1837, the Fowler brothers made a life cast of his head and face. The report published in The American Phrenological Journal the following year advanced racist stereotypes: it described Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak as possessing “very large organs of the animal propensities . . . , a warlike ambition, and a great love of independence and power.” This cast was part of the Phrenological Museum of Fowler & Wells, which opened in New York City in 1842. Brothers Orson Squire Fowler (1809-1887) and Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1896) and their business associate Samuel Roberts Wells (1820-1875) were noted phrenologists who read heads to understand the subject's "temperament." Their Phrenological Cabinet displaying casts, skulls, and charts became a popular fixture in the city.

DescriptionPortrait head

MarkingsPaper tape inscribed: "BLACK HAWK-INDIAN CHIEF OF THE "SAC + FOX" TRIBE BORN -1768-died October -3-1838 IMMENSE PERCEPTIVE. LARGE LOCALITY AND EVENTUALITY"; small label on inside inscribed: "Black Hawk head 16-83"

ProvenanceThe Fowler Mask Collection; Furniture and Decorations, Kende Galleries at Gimbel Brothers, New York, September 20-21, 1946; purchased by New-York Historical Society, 1946.

ClassificationsSCULPTURE