Hochunk (Winnebago) Bandolier Bag
Hochunk (Winnebago) Bandolier Bag
Hochunk (Winnebago) Bandolier Bag
This is based on the information provided by the donor, and supported by the item's similarity to other Hochunk pieces.
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The bottom-most layer is tan in color, and appears to be linen or cotton; this is covered by a layer of black wool. The black wool is trimmed with a thin strip of black material, which may be silk – the fiber in the trim has a distinctly different formation than that of the black base layer. On the upper piece of the base and on the strap is a layer of beadwork. The beads are glass. The background beading is a cream color, and the base of the bag is made up of leaf-like patterns, each group composed of a two-color scheme: yellow and black, and blue and red. The strap has the same background and motif, but employs a different color scheme: red, blue, and black; and black, aqua, and orange.
body and strap are two separate pieces, both beaded using a loom technique; spot stitching of smaller bead clusters; tassels attached at bottom of the body
geometrical leaf pattern repeated across body and strap
The design appears to be a geometric representation of leaves, but is rather abstract and unnatural in appearance. The use of geometric designs is characteristic of Hochunk bandolier bags, and despite a lack of obvious embedded meaning in some of the least realistic images, these often have a deeper cosmological significance. This particular motif may reflect a native interpretation of the popular western floral imagery of the period.
Bandolier bags are a type of personal ornamentation, and this particular bag does not have a functional pocket, so was likely used for purely decorative purposes, perhaps in a ceremonial context. Bandolier bags were sometimes given as gifts to other individuals within a tribe or as a political/diplomatic gift.
This the date estimated by the museum, and is supported by the existence of similar items from the same time period.