twill, linen; velvet, black; woolen tape, mustard; calvary twill, brown; woolen yarn, brown; thread

The bag's front is a piece of linen twill fabric separate from the straps. The same printed fabric was used to line inside of pouch and back of straps. The upper portion of the bag's front is a panel of black velvet. Machine stitching is found on the bag. It has a working pouch. The binding is a mustard-coloured woolen tape, and the back is made of brown calvalry twill. Tassles made of brown woolen yarn are attached at the bottom of the bag.

Floral motifs and berries. A band of zig zags frames the central design field.

RP does not feel that the floral designs are a replacement for earlier geometric designs that had clear connections to narratives and cosmologies. Instead, the floral designs represent a more "hidden" version of this expression of cosmology. For example, the "Ojibwe rose" had four petals, which could represent the four directions. The zig zag design is also replicated. Berries, which figure in medicine and ceremony, are represented on the bag as well.

1870-1910, based on design features and materials. The use of beading on black velvet begins around 1870, becoming more popular by the 1880s.

Purchased by Pitt Rivers Museum in 1948 from the Denver Art Museum's Kohlbergs C. Wiegel collection.

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).

researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), Al Corbiere (AC), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Laura Peers (LP), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).