Bag

Bag

Bag

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Introduction

An unsmoked hide bag decorated with beads and bands of woven quillwork. Likely Mushkegowuk or Eeyou made in the late 18th or early 19th century. Part of a collection loaned to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Colonel Shirley in 1952 and purchased from his son, Major Shirley in January 1966.

Nation of Maker: Cree Eeyou (Eastern James Bay Quebec Cree) Mushkegowuk (Western James Bay Cree)
Nation of Origin

This is an example of a genre of Mushkegowuk or Eeyou bag, with two horizontally oriented rows of loom-woven quillwork with striped bead fringing.

Date Made or Date Range: 1770s to 1820s
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Pitt Rivers Object catalogue and observations made by the GRASAC research team.

Materials

Hide, unsmoked; stroud, navy; glass pony beads, size 8 turquoise; porcupine quills, natural and dyed black and red; yarn, white; thread, linen; metal cones; paint, red (probably ochre)

Techniques or Format

Made of unsmoked hide. Navy stroud is used as a decorative ground for the woven strips of quillwork on the front of the bag. Red ochre paint is found on the upper and lower borders of woven quill strips. Metal cones form part of the bag's fringe.

Motifs and Patterns

Double meander line with inserted U shapes.

Original and Subsequent Uses

LP and RP think this is the northern equivalent of a firebag, meant to hold flint, steel, tinder, possibly personal pipe.

Other Notes

This bag may be Dene: the hide strips holding the tinkle cones are very finely cut, and are part of the back of the body of the bag-- the Mushkegowuk (Western James Bay Cree) or Eeyou (Eastern James Bay, Quebec-Cree) tend to use a separate strip inserted into the seam. (RP)

Dimensions: 29.2 × 0 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Late 18th or early 19th century. This date is based on the Cree-style genre of the bag, bead types, and fabric type.

Current Location: Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 1952.5.09
Collection at Current Location: Shirley Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1966
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Colonel Shirley via Major Shirley
Collection Narratives and Histories

This item is part of a collection loaned to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Colonel Shirley in 1952 and purchased from his son, Major Shirley in January 1966. There is a possibility that this item was formerly owned by James Bisset and acquired by Colonel Shirley through the Leamington Museum.

Publication History

Mowat, Linda. "Painted Coats for a Coronation? (Research Notes)," Journal of Museum Ethnography 8 (1996): 109-110.

GKS Reference Number: 25898
Record Creation Context

This record was created as part of a Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC) research trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum, December 8-22 2007, funded by a grant from the International Opportunities fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Record Creation Notes/Observations

researchers present: RP, JM, CW, LP, AC, AS, SL

Approximate Place of Origin

43.6, -71.9

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