Materials

fabric, velveteen, black; fabric, cotton, off-white; binding tape, light purple & medium red; yarn, black, medium blue & seaweed; small tube beads, clear; large tube beads, transparent orange and transparent brown; seed beads, glass, opaque white, opaque black, red (2 shades of opaque dusty rose, transparent rose, opaque dark pink), yellow (transparent tawny, transparent medium yellow, opaque lemon), green (opaque light pear, transparent pine), blue (opaque periwinkle, opaque sky blue, opaque medium blue, transparent dark blue, opaque navy);

Techniques or Format

Hand sewn off-white cotton, Edged with red bias tape forms tabs at bottom left corner, Overlay stitched beadwork, Fringed with eleven loom woven beaded tabs and yarn tassels

Motifs and Patterns

Floral stem and leaf, Lanceolate leaf, Ragged leaf, 3- and 4-petalled flower, 'X'-motif.

Original and Subsequent Uses

"Bandolier bags most likely originated in the Upper Great Lakes region during the 1840s and 1850s. Fashioned exclusively from European materials and adorned with thousands of beads, bandolier bags were primarily for show, as a symbol of identity, wealth and status. Although initially functional, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries many of the bags had false pockets or none at all. Sometimes called "friendship bags", they were often created as gifts to strengthen relationships within communities or between nations. By the 1870s they had become an important element of formal dress worn mainly at ceremonies and celebrations by men, and occasionally by women. They wore them - singly or several at a time - crossed over the torso or draped around the neck. The wearing of more than one bag was generally the prerogative of a leader or a person of high honour." (McCord, 2013)

Dimensions: 104.5 × 41.5 × 0 cm

Condition: Fringe and some beadwork broken, Red bias tape, torn, probable bottom right tab missing, Purple bias tape worn, Inner lining of pocket, torn, Pocket, upper right hand side tacked shut, Beadwork, some areas broken and beads missing.

Current Location: Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: H4-11-67

Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://manitobamuseum.ca/main/collections-research/collections-database/

Collection at Current Location: Cultural Anthropology Collection

Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: collection date unknown but was catalogued into the collection in 1979

Previous Collectors: G.W. Allen

Source for Provenance information

McCord Museum. Wearing Our Identity. Montreal: The McCord Museum, 2013. Print.

Sources to Learn More

McCord Museum. Wearing Our Identity. Montreal: The McCord Museum, 2013. Print.

GKS Reference Number: 45183

How to Cite this Item

Manitoba Museum

Record Creation Context

Content from the Manitoba Museum's catalog records. Uploaded by Orvis Starkweather as part of their summer internship.