aasan, legging panels, men's

aasan, legging panels, men's

aasan, legging panels, men's

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Introduction

These relatives are a pair of beaded aasan (leggings) that have been cut into four pieces. They are probably men's aasan, and are stylistically similar to Anishinaabe or Delaware work, featuring beadwork that is suggestive of hourglass (Thunderbird) and horned serpent motifs.

This relative was collected by Charles Hallowell Stephens on June 28, 1908 from a Philadelphia dealer named Osborn. His whole collection was left to his son D. Owen Stephens, whose wife sold it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1945, where this relative currently resides.

Name of Maker(s): Maker Unrecorded
Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

This attribution is based on stylistic features: the alternation of edging colours is characteristic of Anishinaabe work, but these could also be Delaware, or possibly from another group.
Originally, listed at "Iroquois" on the collector's catalogue card.

Date Made or Date Range: Before 1908
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Museum documentation and observations made by the GRASAC research team.

Materials

black cloth; green braid; red cotton tape; yellow cotton tape; black tape; small (size 12?) glass beads in white, pink, blue, and yellow; red heart beads; black thread; brown thread

Techniques or Format

The black cloth panels are edged with ribbon and one-bead picot edging. Beadwork decorates pieces that would have been the sides of each legging. Black tape is attached to what would have been the tops of each legging. The leggings have been cut length-wise, into four pieces.

Motifs and Patterns

The beadwork is suggestive of hourglass (Thunderbird) and horned serpent motifs.

Other Notes

Components:
Panel 1 (with double curves) 54 l x 21 w
Panel 2 (back of #1) 54 l x 20.5
Panel 3 (with double curve motifs) 54 l x 27.5
Panel 4 (back of Panel 3) 54 l x 14

Dimensions: 53.4 × 13.7 × 0 cm
Condition: The aasan are in poor condition.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

They were collected by Stephens on June 28th 1908, according to the catalogue card.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 45-15-500A & 45-15-500B
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/564512
Collection at Current Location: Charles H. Stephens Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1945
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Purchased from Mrs. Owen Stephens, 1945
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: Before 1908
Collection Narratives and Histories

This relative was collected by Charles Hallowell Stephens on June 28, 1908 from a Philadelphia dealer named Osborn. His whole collection was left to his son D. Owen Stephens, whose wife sold it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1945, where this relative currently resides.

Source for Provenance information

Museum documentation.

GKS Reference Number: 25895
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Aasan, legging panels, men's. GRASAC ID 25895. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 45-15-500A & 45-15-500B.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a GRASAC study visit, participants included: David Penney, Ruth Phillips, Stacey Loyer, and William Wierzbowski, December 3, 2009.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on March 24, 2025.

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