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beaded purse
beaded purse
beaded purse
Red woolen broadcloth beaded bag. Bag features beaded patterns of flowers and leaves with a relatively naturalistic, elaborate border pattern. Handle is made of newspaper, which may have once been covered by another material. Made by the Seneca.
Based on resemblance to bags collected by Lewis Henry Morgan among the Tonawanda Seneca
Note: In ROM records, the bag was attributed to the Penobscot by Ted Brasser in 1981 and dated to the turn of the 20th century
Read More About This Relative
Red woolen broadcloth, pale aqua silk (faded to beige), gold silk lining, string handle newpaper, size 13 translucent clear, green beads; size 13 opaque white, green, light blue, dusty rose, white lined red beads; size 13 greasy teal and yellow; size 15 cut dark blue
Bag made of two panels joined at the sides and bottom by panel or gusset of silk, separate flaps on each side; On both sides two extra pockets are inserted under the flap, one larger one between the top edge and the body and a small slit pocket on top of it
Flowers and leaves, relatively naturalistic, elaborate border pattern composed of parallel scalloped lines around front, back, and flap design fields different on the two sides
CW - The string handle seems odd in combination with the other materials used on the bag, was perhaps once wrapped with another material
Beadwork style and scalloped border resemble those illustrated by Morgan as Seneca (see Tooker pp 255-256)
CW: This kind of broadcloth wasn't readily available after the 1850s and the style of the beadwork resembles that published by Morgan in 1852 based on collecting he had been doing during the previous decade
Provenance
About This GRASAC Record
Unknown artist, beaded purse. Currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, 972.300.14. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2008; GRASAC item id 759.