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Paramount Chief Powhatan Presents Deer-Skin Mantle to Captain Christopher Newport, Photograph, date unknown

CONTENT WARNING

Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation. 

Context

This photograph shows a deerskin mantle that was believed to have been presented by Paramount Chief Powhatan (whose given name was Wahunsonacock) to Captain Christopher Newport of the Virginia Company in 1608. The mantle is embroidered with shells and depicts a man and two deer. It would have been worn like a cloak or hung on a wall. The amount of detail that went into creating the mantle indicates that its owner would have been considered a person of stature and wealth.

At the time of the arrival of the English colonists in 1607, Powhatan ruled Tsenacomoco, an alliance of about thirty tribes and petty chiefdoms anchored by the Powhatan Indians.  The mantle was part of a ceremony that Newport hoped would improve the strained relationship between colonists and Indigenous Virginians by recognizing Powhatan’s status among the tribes while also showing that he was subordinate to King James I. John Smith warned Newport that Powhatan would not recognize the king's authority over him because he saw himself as a king in his own right. Powhatan refused to travel to Jamestown for the ceremony so Newport and the English traveled to Werowocomoco, the place of Powhatan leadership, along the north side of the York River.

During the ceremony, Powhatan was presented with several gifts including a bedstead and clothing in the English style. In return, he presented Newport with the deerskin mantle and a pair of his old moccasins. When it came time to present Powhatan with his crown, he refused to bend his head so Newport and Smith leaned on his shoulders to force his knees to bend and the crown was placed on his head.

The attempts at alliance failed and relations between the English and the tribes deteriorated. The marriage of Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas to settler John Rolfe in 1614 brought a short period of peace before Powhatan's death in 1618.

The original deerskin mantle presented to Newport is held in the permanent collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. This photograph was part of a collection of  large photograph albums prepared by the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce to display at the Virginia Room at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.

Citation: Virginia New York World's Fair Commission. Deer-skin mantle presented to Captain Christopher Newport by King Powhatan. 1939 World's Fair Photograph Collection, Library of Virginia.

See the original mantle at https://www.ashmolean.org/powhatans-mantle#/

Standards

History: VS.1, VS.3, USI.1, USI.4, USI.5, VUS.1, VUS.2, VUS.3
Art: 4.1, 5.1, 4.4, 5.3

Suggested Questions

Preview Activity

Look at It: Look at the picture and caption. What do you think this item was used for? What was it made from? What do you think the design means?

Post Activities

Analyze: Given your knowledge of the conflicts between the Powhatan Indians and the English colonists, what could have been done differently to bring shared understanding? What additional information might have helped the English in resolving their early disputes with the Powhatan Indians?

Current Connections: Craft a new design for this cloak using items found and produced in Virginia. How would this design differ from the original design? Would it still be a cloak or would it be a different article of clothing?

Another Perspective: If you were a Powhatan Indian, what would you think of the gifts presented by the English? Why?