Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), 1776 oil on canvas 127 x 101.6 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 National Gallery
of Canada (no. 8005) During the American Revolutionary War, the
Mohawk leader Joseph Brant (1742-1807) was given the rank of
captain and fought on the side of the British. This portrait was
painted on the occasion of Brant's trip to England to negotiate
the role of the Iroquois Confederation of the Six Nations in the
conflict. He wears the silver gorget (a piece of armour for the
throat) presented to him by George III. His Mohawk name,
Thayendanegea, means "two sticks bound together", denoting
strength. Frame: running moulding with carved ornament, gilded.
Britain, second hald 18th century