Materials

Hide; porcupine quills, white, red, black, orange; animal hair, dyed red; metal cones; fine stroud, navy; cloth, blue.

Techniques or Format

Made with hide and porcupine quills in red white black and orange. There are remnants of red dyed animal hair in the metal cones found at the end of the thong tassles wrapped with white porcupine quills. There is a layer of fine navy stroud immediately behind the quills, over which is sewn a blue cloth backing for display (not an original material).
Netted quill work.

Motifs and Patterns

Decorated with rows of ten hourglass and semi-triangle shapes.

Additional Context

High on the virtuosity meter.

Other Notes

RP and LP both thought this item may have been a cradleboard ornament.

Dimensions: 16 × 34.5 × 0 cm

Condition: Fair. There is some quill, cone, and animal hair loss. It appears as though the entire item has been cut off from something else.

Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

It was acquired by the museum in 1949.

Current Location: British Museum, London, UK

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: Am1949,22.130

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1949

Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Mrs. D K Oldman

Collection Narratives and Histories

Collected by W O Oldman. Purchased by the British Museum from Mrs. D K Oldman in 1949.

GKS Reference Number: 26999

How to Cite this Item

Unknown artist, panel. Currently in the British Museum, Am1949,22.130. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2007; GRASAC item id 26999.

Record Creation Context

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).

Record Creation Notes/Observations

Researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), John Borrows (JB), Lindsay Borrows (LB), Alan Corbiere (AC), Darlene Johnston (DJ), Jonathan King (JK), Henrietta Lidchi (HL), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Bruce Morito (BM), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).