bag, charm

bag, charm

bag, charm

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Images
Introduction

This ancestor is a twined bag, made from nettle fiber, wool, yarn and buffalo hair. Presenting natural fibered colour, with black and orange yarn, one side of this item presents picture languages of four hourglass-shaped thunderbirds, or animikiig, describing oral histories and stories, or aadizookaanags. These thunderbirds are powerful beings who rule the sky, while lighting shoots from their eyes, and thunder is their cries (Corbiere and Migwans, 2013). On the reverse side we see a shooting power design of geometric shapes and lines, which can be representations of the lighting shooting from the thunderbird’s eyes, showing how these ancestors use picture language to describe the Anishinaabe cosmos. This ancestor is currently located within the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Nation of Maker: Other
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Mesquakie

Place of Origin: Tama, IA
Date Made or Date Range: 1850
Materials

Nettle fiber, wool yarn and buffalo hair

Techniques or Format

Fiber bag with alternate space weft twining

Motifs and Patterns

Decorated with four thunderbirds on one side and a "shooting power" design on the other.

Dimensions: 4 × 5.25 × 0 in
Condition: This heritage item has a good structural foundation to it as seen through its fiber and colour.
Current Location: Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 2006.5
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://dia.org/collection/charm-bag-95173
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 2006
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: John Baldwin (West Olive, Michigan, USA). 2006-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Collection Narratives and Histories

Formerly in the collection of John Baldwin, West Olive, Michigan

Publication History

This ancestor has been featured in “Before and after the Horizon”: Ruth Phillips.

GKS Reference Number: 26147
How to Cite this Item

Unknown. "bag charm" GRASAC ID 26147, Located in the Detroit Institute of Arts, catalogue number 2006.5.

Record Creation Context

This record was augmented by Natasha Fares in December 2023.

Record Creation Notes/Observations

Good images are not yet available for this item, as it was on exhibit at the time of the GRASAC visit and not on the list of objects to discuss. By request, Kelly Konieczki created a GKS profile after the visit. A DIA Museum Catalogue System (TMS) photograph was added as a temporary place-holder image. KK also added all available information about the item from TMS after the visit, however did not research its supplementary files.

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