14/11/2025 General News, Latest News
Our Head of Vintage Fashion and Luxury Goods, Elena Jackson, explores the history behind the Pani La Shar Pawnee Hermès Scarf by Kermit Oliver at Hermès - bringing a depth that transforms the object: it’s no longer just a scarf; it’s a piece of living history — a bridge between art, craft, and culture. These are the stories that catalogues should bring to the fore.
Azca’s inaugural Vintage & Antique Luxury Fashion auction will take place on Wednesday November 26th. Reach out to specialist Elena Jackson at elena@azcaauctions.com for sale enquiries.
At first glance, this piece is just another framed Hermès scarf - I didn't really like it at first. A square of silk in a gilded walnut frame- neat and anonymous, like so many other items that pass through most auction catalogues every week.
But when I sit down to research a piece like this, I find a whole world waiting to be rediscovered... This design, Pani La Shar Pawnee, was created by Kermit Oliver — the only American artist to ever design for Hermès. When the collaboration began, Oliver was tasked with expressing one of three themes: the Southwest, Native Americans, or history of Neiman Marcus - and this was in fact the first design that Oliver created in response to his task.
This scarf’s subject is a real 19th-century chief of the Pawnee, an indigenous group that historically lived in the central plains of North America, from Colorado to Iowa, but now live in Oklahoma. This chief was named Sharitarish, and he travelled from the Great Plains to Washington, D.C. in 1821 to meet President Monroe to defend his people’s traditions and independence to US officials.
Sharitarish’s portrait was first painted by Charles Bird King (1785 - 1862), an American portraitist who became known for his work with native american subjects. King’s style has an continues to be divisive - with some criticising his portrayals as coming to close to the trope of the “noble savage” (which stereotyped and infantalised non-white figures as both morally ‘pure’ and culturally backwards). The attention to detail in King’s portraits however, especially in his subject’s clothing, has been praised by some for its recording of the material culture of their communities. Nevertheless, it is King’s portrait which was later reinterpreted by Oliver in his work for Hermès as part of a respectful homage to Native American heritage.
"I believe that good catalogue writing should do more than list materials, dimensions, and condition"
That depth of this story transforms the object: it’s no longer just a scarf; it’s a piece of living history — a bridge between art, craft, and culture, and through its story I have come to love it! I believe that good catalogue writing should do more than list materials, dimensions, and condition. It should connect the reader to the maker, the era, and the spirit of the piece.
Whether it’s a Thea Porter kaftan woven from antique Syrian brocade or a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk that once crossed the Atlantic, I want every entry to have a heartbeat. Traditional auction language can be formulaic: for this piece, the entry could simply read “Framed Hermès silk scarf, 90 × 90 cm” - Tidy, efficient, but soulless.
I'm making a stand against this and it is unconventional - but then my friends and family will tell you, I always have been! My approach is to invite the reader in. To tell them why it matters, who designed it, and what makes it special. Because every object — every thread, clasp, and brushstroke — carries the imprint of human hands and stories worth preserving.
At Azca Auctions, that’s exactly what I try to capture: not just the item, but it's essence!
Elena Jackson is Head of Vintage Fashion and Luxury Goods at Azca. This piece, A Framed Hermès Silk Scarf, "Pani La Shar Pawnee" (1984, estimated at £80 - £120), will feature in her inaugural Vintage & Antique Luxury Fashion auction, which will take place on Wednesday November 26th. Reach out to Elena at elena@azcaauctions.com for sale enquiries.