Warrior's shirt in Sioux style

Description

folded piece of hide with cut out head opening, sleeves sewn on, hems cut in fringes, decorated with beaded panels and horse hair tassels, partly with feathers, resp. fluffy fur, slightly dam., rep. (armpits), seams partly loosened.
This shirt was owned by the actor Werner Hoffmann who wore it himself, presumably to depict Winnetou. Werner Hoffmann was involved in the early years of the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg around 1952, not only as an actor, but above all as a costume consultant (as well as Native American customs) to give profile to the first performances. Hoffmann also had a close friendship with Patty Frank, the keeper of the old Karl-May-Museum in Radebeul near Dresden. It is also conceivable that there were connections to Hagenbeck and Umlauff in Hamburg, who brought the first objects / garments of Native Americans to Germany in the first half of the 20th century.
The Plains Indians made their clothes mainly from soft deer or antelope leather. The men wore moccasins, waist-high leggings, and loincloths. The outer clothing was a bison robe. Until the middle of the 19th century, leather shirts were reserved for selected leaders of the warrior alliances. The honour to wear such a shirt could only be acquired through particularly heroic deeds and especially brave behaviour. It is said that the shirts contained spiritual powers that were transferred to their owner. The tufts of horse hair (human hair in former times) represented the scalps taken by the wearer. It was not until the mid-19th century that leather shirts were part of the men’s everyday clothing.