coat

coat

coat

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Nation of Maker: Métis
Nation of Origin

DIA exhibit text and stylistic attributes

Place of Origin: Manitoba, CA
Date Made or Date Range: 1830s to 1840s
Materials

Home tanned hide, smoked and unsmoked to give tan coloured body and white cuffs, collar and fringes. Porcupine quills dyed blue and red, as well as undyed white. DIA TMS record notes: "Tanned moose (?) and caribou hide, porcupine quills."

Techniques or Format

Could only see back at time of study due to its being on display. The coat has aslightly box-like shape, not being tightly fitted, yet shaped. The center back seam and side back seams have quilled and fringed decorations to the waist, as does the center sleeve seam. It falls to the upper thigh. Quillwork of several different techniques, including rosette with radiating rows and edging stitch, panels of loomwoven quillwork, wrapped fringes and single zigzag technique, as well as twisted stem technique, on floral motifs on cuffs.

Other Notes

DIA TMS notes: "Tailored after an American or European model, decorated with delicate loom porcupine quillwork in geometric designs (hourglass, stepped pyramid, cross, checkerboard, pinwheel, etc.). Also decorated partially down center and side back seams with five-eighths inch band of alternating red, white and blue triangles. Quill embroidery in floral designs on cuffs. Buttons at front opening and attaching cuff edge to sleeve at sleeve seam are covered with concentric circles of red, white and blue quillwork. The collar, lapels, center front opening and pocket openings are edged with quills. Leather fringes, partially bound with quills are apparent over shoulders, down sleeve seams, at lower edge of jacket, down center back and side back seams, and at intervals around collar. Applied separately are disks of quillwork at shoulder blades. The disks are three and one-eighth inches in diameter, with quilled fringes hanging below and attached in scallops above."

Dimensions: 37 × 27 × 0 in
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

DIA exhibit text, DIA TMS record dates coat to 1835.

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 81.231.1
Collection at Current Location: Chandler Pohrt Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1981
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Richard A. Pohrt
Collection Narratives and Histories

Formerly in the collection of M.G. Chandler, who originally acquired the coat from Stephen Gale.

GKS Reference Number: 24402
Record Creation Context

Cory Willmott took photos of this item on exhibit after GRASAC team had gone; Crystal Migwans took detailed photos while GRASAC team was examining other items in the gallery.

Record Creation Notes/Observations

Good images are not yet available for this item, as it was on exhibit at the time of the GRASAC visit and not on the list of objects to discuss. Cory Wilmott created a GKS profile after the visit. A DIA Inventory photograph was later added by Kelly Konieczki as a temporary place-holder image. KK also added all available information about the item from TMS after the visit, however did not research its supplementary files.

Approximate Place of Origin

56.1516, -97.3936