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The Sun Vow

The Sun Vow

Artist: Hermon Atkins MacNeil (American, 1866 - 1947)

Foundry: Roman Bronze Works, NY (American, founded 1897)

Date: c. 1899
Medium: bronze
Dimensions:
Overall: 34 in. (86.4 cm)
Credit Line:Museum Purchase
Object number: 1929.77.1

The Sun Vow depicts a young North American Indian undergoing a rite of manhood under the tutelage of an older warrior.  Before a boy could be accepted as a warrior of his tribe, his rite of passage was to shoot an arrow directly into the sun. The Sun Vow became MacNeil’s most famous composition, receiving medals at the Paris Exposition of 1900 and the Pan-American Exposition in 1901.

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