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pouch
pouch
pouch
This black smoked hide pouch has an elongated design, similar to a knife sheath, or like pouches used to hold a ceramic personal pipe or European watch. It is edged with white and green glass beads, some of which are missing or loose. There is a porcupine quill applique, with the quills forming three mountain shapes or a bird with wings extended. When worn, the pouch would have three triangles pointing upward. The back is undecorated, and the inside has no lining. The hide is powdery. The pouch opens from the top, and when closed, three jingle cones on the top fold hang down in the same direction as the four jingle cones on the bottom. Some cones are rusted, some have hair missing or cropped from the cones.
This relative currently resides at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, Germany.
Museum documentation lists this as Comanche, however, GRASAC members are confident this is a Great Lakes relative.
Museum documentation and GRASAC researcher notes.
Read More About This Relative
Smoke hide, glass beads, quill, deer or moose hair, metal cones
Single piece of black smoked hide, folded along the left side. Appliqued quillwork.
Laura Peers observed that the green glass beads are uncommon. Alan Corbiere noted that when he first saw the three triangle quillwork applique, it was three mountains, but looking longer at the pouch also wondered if it was a bird with its wings extended. Laura Peers noted the triangles would have pointed up when the bag was being worn, so both mountains or a bird design are possible.
The specific use for this pouch is unclear. There is no attachment point enabling the pouch to be worn around the neck or on a belt. It has a structure similar to slit pouches, but with no visible slits. The design is similar to a knife sheath, and it was possibly used for a small personal clay pipe. It has has similarities to a European watch pouch.
The date range of 1775-1825 is based on the black smoked material which is found in the late 18th century, and was commonly collected by Europeans during the French-Indian Wars. The decoration present on this piece reflects elements used widely over the time period, but the small jingle cones suggest the pouch is from earlier rather than later within the time span.
Provenance
Other Catalogue Identifiers: orig. list no. 52
Museum documentation
About This GRASAC Record
Created by Nikolaus Stolle during a research visit to the museum commissioned by Ruth Phillips and supported by her research funds. Photographs by Stolle.
Augmented by Cara Krmpotich on March 12, 2024 using additional information from a May 2019 GRASAC research visit including Cara Krmpotich, Laura Peers, Alan Corbiere and Maureen Matthews, with Hannah Turner and Charles Feaver as photographers.