Dark blue woollen bag with rounded top corners, and a beadwork panel half as long the bag attached to its bottom edge. [LM 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 4/1/2006]

Collection type: Object
Description: Dark blue woollen bag with rounded top corners, and a beadwork panel half as long the bag attached to its bottom edge. [LM 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 4/1/2006]
Long description: Dark blue woollen bag with rounded top corners, and a beadwork panel half as long the bag attached to its bottom edge. The bag is decorated with a strip of red ribbon between a yellow and white bead design around three edges, including along the opening along the top edge, on both sides. In the centre of both the front and back of the bag is a circle of red wool with its centre cut out, edged with white beads. there are two circles cut out of the bag on one side only, towards the upper edge, edged with yellow beads, behind which are fragments of a blue ribbon, perhaps used to fasten the bag. On the same side, in the lower left corner, is a small segmented circle embroidered in cream thread. This 'embroidered' design is repeated on the other side of the bag in both corners. A beadwork panel with a geometric design of green, yellow, black red, and turquoise abstract shapes on a white ground, is attached to the lower edge of the bag. Strands of white, black, yellow, burgundy and turquoise blue beads with red woollen tassels (common stroud - red and blue) are attached, like fringing, from the bottom edge of the beadwork. The bag has some holes (caused by insect damage?).
Geographical reference: North America
Northern America > North America; Canada
Northern America > North America > Canada
Cultural groups: Ojibwe
Person: Maker Unknown Maker; Field collector Unknown Collector; PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Date / Period: Date made: Possibly before 1880
Date collected: ?Prior to 1880
Acquisition information: Donated: 1884
Materials and processes: Material Wool Textile Animal, Material Bead, Material Ribbon Textile, Material Glass, Process Woven, Process Beadwork, Process Stitched, Process Appliqué, Process Embroidered
Dimensions: Length: max 510 mm, Width: max 238 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1884.69.16 PR no.: 17/ 10513
Research and responses: On 14 June 2005 three members of the Stroud Embroider's Guild examined this object and made the following observations. The bag, although similar to a stroud cloth, is much coarser and there is evidence of moth damage. The stitching is chainstitch. [ZM 21/6/2005]
Examined by the GRASAC research team on 12 December 2007 as part of a research project to create a digital database. This will incorporate information about collections of indigenous material culture from the Great Lakes region of North America that are housed in a number of museums on several continents; see https://icslac.carleton.ca/grasac/ [see researchers file GRASAC]. The team noted the upper panel of the bag is made of dark blue coarse stroud, decorated with a circle of red stroud, red woollen ribbon, with size 10 white beads and yellow beads, plus cream thread. The lower panel is made of green, yellow, black, red, and turquoise beads. The bottom edge is decorated with a fringe made of beaded strings terminating in red woollen tassels. Motifs and images include arrows, hourglass and triangles resembling the crayfish pattern on the beaded panel and circles (possibly a form of sun imagery) on the upper panel. Date of manufacture thought to be between 1790 and 1830 due to the cloth and beads used. From Western Great Lakes attributed to the Anishinaabeg or Cree. [ZM 15/05/2008]
Final GRASAC entry: 'Date Made or Date Range: 1790s to 1830. Rationale for Assigned Date or Date Range: The cloth and beads used in the bag's construction suggest that it was made between 1790 and 1830. Materials: The upper panel is made of dark blue coarse stroud, decorated with a circle of red stroud, red woolen ribbon, size 10 white beads, yellow beads, cream thread. the lower panel is made of green, yellow, black, red, and turquoise beads. It's bottom edge is decorated with a fringe made of beaded strings terminating in red wollen tassels. Format/Techniques: Dark blue woollen bag with rounded top corners, and a beadwork panel half as long as the bag attached to its bottom edge. The bag is decorated with a strip of red ribbon between a yellow and white bead design around three edges, including along the opening along the top edge, on both sides. In the centre of both the front and back of the bag is a circle of red wool with its centre cut out, edged with white beads. There are two circles cut out of the bag on one side only, towards the upper edge, edged with yellow beads behind which are fragements of blue ribbon, perhaps used to fasten the bag. On the same side, in the lower left corner, is a small segmented circle embroidered in cream thread. This embroidered design is repeated on the other side of the bag in both corners. Buttonhole and chain stitch are used on the upper panel. The beaded panel below contains geometric designs. The fringe is made of strands of beads with red woollen tassels. Motifs and Images: Beaded panel contains arrows, hourglass motif, and triangles resembling the crayfish-pattern. Circles are found on the upper panel. Symbolism and Interpretation: The cirlces may be forms of sun imagery: does the hole in 'sun' in the bag's centre represent the hole in the sky, the axis mundi which leads one through cosmic zones? The segmented circles embroidered on the bag's corners resemble icons on rose blankets. Condition: Small holes in the bag may have been caused by insect damage.' [L Peers, 02/06/2009]

Search terms: Bag, Bead