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Moccasins
Moccasins
Moccasins
These relatives, a pair of moccasins, are composed of tanned deerskin and decorated with porcupine quills, silk ribbon, commercial thread, glass beads, and sinew. Although the precise origins of these relatives are unknown, they have probable connections to the Anishinaabe. They were originally collected between 1800 and 1809 by British Army officer Jasper Grant while residing in Canada for his military service.
These relatives currently reside in the National Museum of Ireland.
This information was gleaned from GRASAC research notes collected during the GRASAC research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010: centre seam construction, double curve motif and ribbonwork applique
This information was informed by the following resource: Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power: Kleinburg, On.: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1984.
Read More About This Relative
Tanned deerskin; porcupine quill, black, white, red, light green, yellow; silk ribbon, dark blue, light blue, pink; yellow commercial thread; glass beads, white; sinew.
One piece construction with seams on centre vamp and heel embroidered with quill. Quill work in zigzag band and simple line stitches; silk ribbon appliqued to side flaps.
Jasper Grant served as commandant of Fort George in the Niagara Peninsula and of Fort Malden at Amherstburg opposite Detroit from 1800-1809.
Provenance
Jasper Grant (1762-1812), Anglo-Irish officer who spent 9 years in Canada between 1800-1809. Served as commandant of Fort George in the Niagara Peninsula and of Fort Malden at Amherstburg opposite Detroit. It is likely that his wife, Isabella Grant, played a significant role in the collection of items given her close relationship to Madeline Askin Richardson, the daughter of a prominent fur trader and merchant with extensive ties to the surrounding Indigenous communities.
GRASAC researcher notes from research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010.
In 1984-1985 the Jasper Grant Collection was featured in a special travelling exhibition for the Ontario bicentennial, which was organized by the McMichael Canadian Collection and entitled "Patterns of Power."
Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1984.
Philips, Ruth B. (1986-87). “Jasper Grant and Edward Walsh: the Gentleman-Soldier as Early Collector of Great Lakes Indian Art.” Journal of Canadian Studies 21(4): 56-71.
About This GRASAC Record
Maker, Name unrecorded. Moccasins. GRASAC ID: 26980. National Museum of Ireland Collection, 1902.341.
This record was augmented by Dana Murray on November 23, 2024. It was informed by notes and photographs collected during a GRASAC research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010. Participants included Alan Corbiere, Bhnens Corbiere, Crystal Migwans, Nikolaus Stolle, Rachel Hand, and Ruth Phillips who were assisted by Padraig Clancy.
42.107, -83.1132
This information was informed by the following resource: Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: Patterns of Power, 1984. Fort Malden is identified on the map as a possible origin for this relative, but this reflects only one place where the relative may have lived. It is not a known place of origin; it is only one location associated with where the collector, Jasper Grant, served in the British Army.