bag, beaded with moosehair embroidery

bag, beaded with moosehair embroidery

bag, beaded with moosehair embroidery

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Introduction

This relative is a bag made with beaded and moosehair embroidered panels and an added silk body. It is likely Huron-Wendat or Hodenosaunee, probably made during the Victorian era (1837-1901). It was purchased by the University of Pennslyvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from J.L. Isaacs in 1917 where it currently resides. 

Name of Maker(s): Unrecorded
Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee Seneca Huron-Wendat
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

The item's catalogue card attributes it to the Huron.

Date Made or Date Range: 1800s to 1917
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

This information comes from the catalogue card and the GRASAC research team.

Materials

red velvet; cardboard or paper; silk/cotton fabric with a floral damask pattern; beige silken ribbon; size 10 opaque white beads; size 12 opaque white, green, blue and periwinkle beads; size 14 or 16 translucent smoky beads; moosehair, white, brown and orange; beige thread.

Techniques or Format

Two red velvet bag panels with scalloped edges have been sewn to a pleated or ruffled band of cotton fabric. One panel has an upper flap, covering a small pocket. The panels are decorated with moosehair embroidery, with the design fields bordered with bands of beadwork. A ribbon is attached to the top of the bag.

Motifs and Patterns

The embroidery depicts floral motifs.

Original and Subsequent Uses

This type of beaded Chatelaine bag was often made by the Hodenosaunee to sell to Victorian tourists in the Niagara region. Chatelaine refers to a formal waist bag popular among 19th century women.

Other Notes

Stacy Loyer notes that while the velvet panels resemble the sort of bags made as tourist art, it is less common to see such panels decorated with both moosehair embroidery and beadwork, and even less common to find them sewn onto such a large silk body.

Dimensions: 25 × 27 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

This item was purchased by the museum in 1917.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: NA 5860
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/282785
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1917
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Purchased from J.L. Isaacs, 1917
Collection Narratives and Histories

This relative was purchased from Isaacs in 1917 by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

GKS Reference Number: 24399
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Bag, beaded with moosehair embroidery. GRASAC ID 24399. University of Pennslyvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, NA 5860.

Record Creation Context

GRASAC study visit, participants: David Penney, Ruth Phillips, Stacey Loyer, William Wierzbowski, December 3, 2009.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on July 27, 2024.

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