naakan, mat

naakan, mat

naakan, mat

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Introduction

This Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee beaded naakan (mat) was likely a lamp map. It features beading in floral and leaf motifs, along with a border of a double row of clear beads flanked by single rows of opaque white beads. This naakan was made in the Victorian era (between 1837 and 1901) and was previously owned by Mary E. Speakman. In 1991, Marshall Joseph Becker gifted it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides. 

Name of Maker(s): Maker Unrecorded
Nation of Maker: Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Museum documentation and the style indicates it is Haudenosaunee.

Date Made or Date Range: 1837 to 1901
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on documentation from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Materials

red velvet; light pink cotton; paper; small (size 12) opaque white and clear glass beads; translucent tubular beads; brown thread.

Techniques or Format

An eight-lobed circular piece of red velvet decorated with slightly raised beadwork applique, parts of which have been done on top of paper patterns. The mat is backed with a piece of cotton. A piece of paper or cardboard has been placed between the velvet and cotton. There may have been a ribbon edging around the mat, which has since disintegrated.

Motifs and Patterns

The beading is done in floral and leaf motifs. There is a border of a double row of clear beads flanked by single rows of opaque white beads.

Dimensions: 19.7 × 19.7 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

The catalogue card says this item was made during the Victorian Era. As well, it resembles a lamp mat illustrated in Ruth Phillips' Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700-1900 (1998), made in the second half of the 19th century (p.40, fig. 1.29).

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 91-22-2
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/102272
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1991
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of Marshall Joseph Becker, 1991
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: After 1837
Collection Narratives and Histories

It was previously owned by Mary E. Speakman. In 1991, Marshall Joseph Becker gifted it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides.

Source for Provenance information

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

GKS Reference Number: 25128
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Naakan, mat. GRASAC ID 25128. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 91-22-2.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a GRASAC research visit by David Penney, Ruth Phillips, Stacey Loyer, and William Wierzbowski, December 3, 2009.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on February 11, 2025.

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