Knowledge Sharing Platform
Fringed and beaded collar
Fringed and beaded collar
Fringed and beaded collar
This ancestor is a fringed and beaded collar made from hide, glass, newspaper, and cotton thread. The collar is semi-circular in shape, and presents a beaded floral motif through the use of spot stitching techniques. The floral motif has a central white floral design with red beads at the top of every petal, and a purple pistil. Expanding outwards are four floral motifs in red, green and blue beaded applique. Ending the motif are two symmetric red leafs on each side with green beading. Bordering the collar are a blue beaded edge, and asterisk shaped symbols surrounding the florals. The collar is edged with fringe crafted from hide, some of which contain hanging beads in blue and red. The back of the collar presents newspaper used to help reinforce the collar. According to the Peabody Museum, this collar was part of pow-wow regalia. This relative is currently located at the the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography.
Information from this entry comes from Melanie Volz's essay titled "Small but Mighty: Viewing the Effects of Diplomacy through Beadwork", student of Alan Corbiere at Harvard University, and The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography's catalogue.
Read More About This Relative
Hide, Glass, Newspaper, Cotton thread
Student researcher Melanie Volz describes the collar in the following way: "The first set of floral motifs [could be] corn. The second set of floral motifs [could be] squash flowers. Finally, the leaves could be from a bean plant (although they look more oak like)."
Student research Melanie Volz provides possible interpretations for the design on the collar: "Fringed and Beaded Collar is an excellent example of this floral-imagery-traditional-meaning dichotomy. A type of floral representation in the Haudenosaunee tradition is symbolic of the Sky Woman and the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash). In this collar, the central flower can represent the Sky Woman. ... This collar could be a departure from previously represented Sky woman and Three Sisters where the beans are simplified in design as the three-bead diagonal lines along the vines. This hypothesized interpretation of the collar is further supported by analyzing color since from the central white flower the vines utilize green and brown beads which are predominant colors in the other floral motifs which emphasize their connectedness. It is a reasonable assumption to make because as previously stated, Indigenous artisans had a wide access to a variety of beads. Thus, the color choices within beaded works can be assumed to be intentional and somehow support the meaning of the design. The collar could have functioned a ceremonial purpose such as in pow-wows." (Volz, 2023).
The newspaper used to create the collar was used to determine the date range for the relative. Museum documentation provides the date range of 1920-1950, but Volz's research indicates it could possibly be as early as 1909-1924 based on products described in advertisements in the newspaper.
Provenance
Owner: Eloise Compton Long Wells (1950)
Collector: Stephen Harriman Long (Gift of the family of David Q. Wells, St. Louis, MO)
Provenance information from The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography's catalogue.
About This GRASAC Record
Unknown Maker. "Fringed and beaded collar", GKS ID 59166. Located at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, catalogue number 2002.25.6.
This record was created by Natasha Fares on March 12th, 2024. Information from this entry comes from Melanie Volz's essay titled "Small but Mighty: Viewing the Effects of Diplomacy through Beadwork", student of Alan Corbiere at Harvard University, and The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography's catalogue.