Sequoyah
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Object Details
- Artist
- J. T. Bowen Lithography Company, active 1834 - 1844?
- Copy after
- Charles Bird King, 26 Sep 1785 - 18 Mar 1862
- Publisher
- Edward C. Biddle, active early 19th century
- J. T. Bowen Lithography Company, active 1834 - 1844?
- Publication
- Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 3 vols., Philadelphia, 1837 - 1844
- Sitter
- Sequoyah, c. 1770 - Aug 1843
- Exhibition Label
- Sequoyah, the son of a Cherokee woman and a fur trader from Virginia, was a warrior, a hunter, and a silversmith. For twelve years he worked to devise a method of writing for the Cherokee language. His syllabary of eighty-five symbols representing syllables was approved by the Cherokee chiefs in 1825. The straightforward system made possible a rapid spread of literacy throughout the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee also began to create written documents, including a constitution in 1827. The following year, the Cherokee Phoenix, a weekly bilingual newspaper, began publication in New Echota, Georgia.
- Sequoyah was painted in Washington, D.C., in 1828 wearing his peace medal.
- Sequoyah, quien se alega era hijo de un tratante de pieles de Virginia con la hija de un jefe indio, inventó un método para escribir el idioma cherokee. Su silabario de ochenta y seis símbolos que representan sonidos vocales y consonantes fue aprobado en 1825 por la Nación Cherokee, que luego le otorgó una medalla de la paz inscrita especialmente para él. Su sencillo y práctico sistema hizo posible la rápida alfabetización del pueblo cherokee. Los curanderos de la tribu pudieron así anotar los ceremoniales relativos a la medicina, la adivinación, la guerra y los juegos de pelota tradicionales; los misioneros, por su parte, tradujeron al lenguaje nativos los himnos e incluso el Nuevo Testamento; y unos editores lanzaron el Cherokee Phoenix, un periódico semanal bilingüe. Sequoyah posó en Washington, D.C., en 1828 con su medalla colgada del cuello.
- J. T. Bowen Lithography Company (activo c. 1834–44), según Henry Inman, según Charles Bird King
- Litografía coloreada a mano, 1837
- Publicada en History of the Indian Tribes of North America, vol. I
- Galería Nacional de Retratos, Instituto Smithsonian
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1837
- Object number
- NPG.71.53
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Medium
- Hand-colored lithograph
- Dimensions
- Image: 27.4 x 22.5cm (10 13/16 x 8 7/8")
- Mat: 71.1 × 55.9cm (28 × 22")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Symbols & Motifs\Medal\Peace medal
- Printed Material\Document
- Equipment\Smoking Implements\Pipe
- Costume\Headgear\Turban
- Sequoyah: Male
- Sequoyah: Education and Scholarship\Educator
- Sequoyah: Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Linguist
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.71.53
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm464d03396-a454-4e9f-bb2e-401fbac88e74
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