black, smoked, Native-tanned deer hide; moose hair, white, red, red to orange, and blue faded to light blue; porcupine quills, white, red, red to orange, blue faded to light blue; deer hair, dyed red; tin cones

The moccasins are of puckered toe construction, with separate sewn- on cuffs and a T seam on back of each heel. RP notes that the upper portion of the back of the moccasin is of particular interest-- it has been neatly pieced as if the maker did not have enough hide for one piece construction.
CW was puzzled that the hide was different colours on each side.

The vamp designs are stylized floral images with double curves, while scallops with large white in-filled circles border the vamp. A double line of overlapping scallops runs around that, which RP thought was very odd. The cuffs have very intricate asymmetrical geometric designs. One side has a triple row of wavy lines and the other scallops. On the vamp a treble band of geometrical quill work encloses a triangular field with double-curve design in fine quill or hair, the quill work itself is enclosed in a continuous pattern of discs contained in semicircles with two superimposed lines of smaller semicircles.

The quillwork was examined under a microscope by Laura Peers and Judy Hall, a visiting researcher, 28/03/2001. It was concluded that there was a good chance the embroidery is quill work throughout, and not hair as Turner believed.

These moccasins are dated to 1800-1820. The attribution is through stylistic associations. The geometric patterns remind RP of panels of woven quill work on moccasins attributed to the Huron-Wendat from either Quebec or Detroit. This type of quill work was not done after the 1840s as bead work then replaced quill work. During a research visit February 2005, Christian Feest confirmed that these date to ca 1800-1825 in style and materials.

The moccasins are from the Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection, collected prior to 1880, donated in 1884.

These moccasins were probably displayed at South Kensington Museum between 1880-1884.

The Delivery Catalogue of the Pitt Rivers Museum lists these moccasins as being delivered to South Kensington Museum in February 1880, and transferred from there in 1884.

This record was created as part of a Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC) research trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum, December 8-22 2007, funded by a grant from the International Opportunities fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Laura Peers (LP), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).