corded stroud, dark green with a yellow stripe; stroud, red; woolen tape, red; silk ribbon, red and ivory; seed beads, size 12 or 10 opaque white, turquoise, green, gold, black, and red, size 8 white and yellow faceted, size 8 clear burgundy (called garnets in fur trade inventories), size 6 white ; twine, linen; metal triangles.

The bag made of two pieces sewn together. The upper panel is cloth, and the lower panel is loom-woven beadwork. The bag's upper panel is made of corded stroud, dyed green over dyed indigo (it now looks dark green). Two circles of red stroud have been appliqued to the upper portion of the top panel. A button-hole stitch is found around the vertical slits in each red circle, through which is threaded tape for the strap. The beaded trim around red circles is couched. The bag's edges are finished in two tone edging beadwork. The yellow strip running horizontally on the bag's upper panel was created through the cording technique. The metal triangles are actually pieces used to make metal cones, which have not yet been rolled or "coned," and were probably cut from the lids of snuff cans (LP).

On the upper panel, two red circles are linked horizontally by a yellow stripe with zigzag contours. The lower panel, of loom-woven beadwork, is a complex design of hour-glasses, triangles, diamonds, lines and crosses. The pattern found on each beaded tassel creates horizontal stripes in the fringe.

The design of the beaded panel resembles a crayfish design typically found in the central panel of bandolier bags made between the 1850s and 1875. Regarding the upper panel, the two red circles linked by a yellow line suggest the path of the sun and movement through time. The red and white borders of the two sides could represent duality, as they are are asymmetrically balanced, both within each side and in terms of the relationship of the two sides to each other. (AC)

This bag may have been worn around the neck or chest. It was likely worn on the front rather than on side (AC). It appears to be more like a tobacco bag than a medicine or Midewiwin bag (CW).

According to William Sturtevant (June, 1985), In the Royal Scottish Museum there seem to be at least three examples of this sort of bag, none of which are well documented: No. 1937.458 was 'bought of W.T.G. Henderson' and was identified by Michael Johnson, 14/4/79, as Cree; No. U.C.308 was collected before 1860, but no source was given, although the piece was illustrated as No.131 in Ralph T. Coe, Sacred Circles (Arts Council, 1976) as 'Ojibwa, Ontario'; No.L.304.129 is illustrated by Coe as 115e, called Huron. (information taken from a letter written by Sturtevant to Linda Cheetham, Pitt Rivers Museum. Accession record for 1952.5.012)

The bag was likely made between 1775-1804, possibly earlier. The materials used on the bag, such as the beads, and unconed metal cones -- which appear to be hand-stamped -- suggest the bag could have been made as early as 1760 - such items were not available in the Western Great Lakes region until 1760 or 1780 (RP, CW). The bag could not have been made later than 1812, as the type of cloth from which it is made was not used much later than this (CW).

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 coat was formerly owned by James Bisset and acquired by Colonel Shirley through the Leamington Museum. (Pitt Rivers Museum Object Catalogue entry)

To be included in the special exhibition on 'Trade' at the Pitt Rivers Museum, 2011-2012.

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

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).