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Headdress
Headdress
Headdress
This relative is a two-piece headdress (tied headband style) with quill-wrapped wooden panels. Composed of undyed cotton tape, sinew, vegetal fibres, leather band, and wooden splits, it is decorated with red, black, green, yellow, and undyed porcupine quills, which form an hourglass motif on one split, and diamonds and crosses on the others. The motifs are separated by stripes. Although the place of origin is uncertain for this relative, it has probable origins in the 1880s.
This relative currently resides in the National Museum of Ireland.
Read More About This Relative
Porcupine quills (red, black, undyed, green, yellow); cotton tape (undyed); sinew; vegetal fibres; leather band; wooden splints
Two leather panels lashed at the short ends make up the piece, one composed of two pieces sewn together (decorative quill panel missing on one side), the other is one piece of leather folded under and sewn to decorative quill panels. Quills sewn onto five wooden splints: two paired splints with identical motifs, and one wrapped alone with different motif. Quill decoration sewn with sinew, leather band sewn with vegetal fibre. Undecorated panel is constructed with two pieces of hide sewn together, with a portion at top centre (where it is fastened to decorated panel) unsewn, indicating that this is where the feathers would have been inserted to complete the headdress. This undecorated side has 6 sets of 2 holes down the centre of the hide, similar to the other side, indicating that it too, was once decorated. The decorated side has the quill splints affixed to the hide by being sewn in at least 6 different places.
Hourglass motif on one splint, diamonds and crosses on others, separated by stripes.
Label adhered to relative: "SCIENCE & ART MUSEUM, DUBLIN / 1880 / ART / 1900".
Similar piece at the Canadian Museum Civilization, Caldwell collection.
Provenance
GRASAC research notes and National Museum of Ireland records.
About This GRASAC Record
Maker, Name unrecorded. Headband. GRASAC ID: 26258. National Museum of Ireland, 1880:1900.
This record was augmented by Dana Murray on November 2, 2024. It is informed by notes and images from the GRASAC research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 20, 2010. Participants included Alan Corbiere, Bnehns Corbiere, Crystal Migwans, Nikolaus Stolle, and Ruth Phillips who were assisted by Padraig Clancy.
45.8, -83.9
Note from Alan Corbiere: Similar pieces collected from this region.