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bag, medicine
bag, medicine
bag, medicine
An Anishinaabe medicine bag, with panels of blackened otter skin hide decorated with quillwork. Collected by G.C. Beltrami in Wisconsin in 1823. Around 1856, Beltrami's nephew donated several objects, including this one, to the Civic Library of Bergamo. Later, the collection was transferred to the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali, its current location.
This type of medicine bag was often made by the Anishinaabe. The Beltrami Collection catalogue's author, Vigorelli, states that "This could be the medicine pouch of a member of Midewiwin (Great Society of Medicine) Chippewa" (p.63).
Museum documentation.
Read More About This Relative
Otter; blackened hide; porcupine quills, dyed red, blue and black; sinew
Note: This record originally indicated that this relative was composed of beaver. With thanks to Alexander Biber for the correction via the GRASAC webform on December 28, 2024, this has since been amended to otter.
An otter skin, with limbs and head intact, is decorated on its tail, with one front paw and one back paw, with blackened hide decorated with quillwork. There is an opening under the beaver's neck.
Quillwork: zig zags, circles, parallel lines.
As Vigorelli states in his catalogue " borse da medicina di questo tipo erano diffuse fra molte popolazioni dell'Upper Missippi. Questa potrebbe essere la borsa di medicina di un membro della Midewiwin (Grande Societa'' della Medicina) Chippewa. Era destinata a contenere erbe medicinali e oggetti a cui veniva attribita inflenza spirituale e potere benefico. per il suo uso e valore rituale questo genere di manufatti era spesso dcorato con grande finezza" (p. 63). [Medicine bags of this type were common among many populations of the Upper Mississippi. This could be the medicine pouch of a member of Midewiwin (Great Society of Medicine) Chippewa. It was made to contain herbs and objects were understood to have spiritual attributes and beneficial power. For its use and value this kind of ritual artifact was often decorated with great finesse]
As Vigorelli wrote: "una infestazione da parassiti ha distrutto il manto peloso" [a parasitic infection destroyed the coat]
Provenance
Collected by G.C. Beltrami from Wisconsin in 1823. Beltrami's collection catalogue states that around 1856, Beltrami's nephew donated several objects to the Civic Library of Bergamo, which were later transferred to the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali.
The Beltrami Collection was exhibited in Florence in 1929 during the "Prima Esposizione Nazionale di Storia delle Scienze" (First National Exposition of History of Sciences"). In 1973, during a celebration of the Beltrami exhibit, Glauco Luchetti donated three objects from his own collection, which were located in Beltrami's last house in Filottrano, to the "Museo Civico E. Caffi". In 1987, the collection was used in the exhibit entitled "Missisippi 1823. Oggetti indiani raccolti da G. Costantino Beltrami" in the Galleria Lorenzelli in Bergamo. In 1988, this object was in the exhibit "The Spirit Sings", Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta.In 1988 this drum was loaned for the exhibit "The Spirit Sings", Glenbow Museum, Alberta.
Beltrami Collection Catalogue, p. 63.
Vigorelli, Gli Oggetti indiani raccolti da G.Costantino Beltrami.
Leonardo Vigorelli, Gli Oggetti indiani raccolti da G.Costantino Beltrami, Civico Museo E. Caffi, Bergamo, 1987.
About This GRASAC Record
Maker, Name unrecorded. Bag, medicine. GRASAC ID 24769. Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali, Bergamo grasac_1374.
This record was created by Emanuela Rossi after a trip funded by GRASAC to the Museo Civico E. Caffi in Bergamo, Italy in October 2008.
Researcher present: Emanuela Rossi
In the Beltrami Collection Catalogue, the author, Leonardo Vigorelli, defines "Upper Mississippi" the Cultural Area of Origin. He defines "Northeast" as the Geographic Area.