Materials

Black or dark brown velveteen (wool or cotton). Lined with beige polished cotton. Trimmed with red cotton tape. Pleated band of red silk ribbon. Handle made of red roped yarn or cord. Glass beads, thread

Techniques or Format

Pouch made of beaded black or dark brown velveteen (wool or cotton), lined with polished cotton and bound at the seams with red cotton tape. A pleated band of red silk ribbon is sewn around the opening. Pouch opens at the top. The flaps on both the front and the back are decorative. Paper is lined between velveteen and cotton to give a stiffness to the panels, visible beneath damaged tape. Beadwork in floral motif is slightly raised and has a paper backing. Red cord handle is sewn to the bag beneath the pleated band of silk ribbon. Looped strings of beads form a fringe at the bottom.

Motifs and Patterns

Beaded floral designs on flap and body. Same design on the front and back.

Dimensions: 12 × 11.6 × 0 cm

Current Location: Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 1/1

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1928

Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: In record: "Foster Saville purchase of three Penobscot beaded bags" in May 1928 for Haffenreffer collection.

Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1928

Previous Collectors: Rudolf F. Haffenreffer

Collection Narratives and Histories

purchased by Foster Saville at Marblehead, Massachusetts, in May 1928 for Haffenreffer collection. Maker/origin unknown. (Also purchased with catalog numbers 1/2 and 1/3.)

Related items in the GKS: Beadwork Beadwork

GKS Reference Number: 45163

Record Creation Context

Visit to Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University (Bristol, RI) of Wahsontiio Cross and Alexandra Nahwegahbow, assisted by Robert Preucel and Kevin Smith on 13 August 2015.