Currently on display as part of the MET’s Art of Native America exhibit, this type of shield would have been carried into battle; it’s vision-inspired imagery offered spiritual protection. Joseph No Two Horns was one of the most prolific Plains artists and his artwork helps to identify the tribal history of the Lakota. His work depicts specific events in his own life as well as the lives of other Lakota people. A warrior by the age of fourteen, No Two Horns participated in at least 40 battles during his life, including the Battle of Little Big Horn. No Two Horns also kept his tribe’s winter count, a collection of pictographs recording 137 years of Lakota history.
Article on Joseph No Two Horns, American Indian Art Magazine, 1993