purple cotton(?); glazed cotton in red and teal green; white cotton(?); cardboard; translucent glass beads; paper; white thread

This purse is made with sewn purple cotton(?) and is decorated with flat and raised beadwork of foliage, flowers, and a bird that is secured with white thread over some visible paper templates. Stiff cardboard backs the decorated purple fabric and helps the purse to retain its shape. The purse can be opened with a movable front flap that has a teal green glazed cotton lining, and a red glazed cotton lining can be seen to line the lower portion of the bag. The purse has a trim along the edges made of white cotton(?) that is decorated with tightly looped strands of beadwork. A single strand of beads sewn to the top of the bag acts as a small handle or strap. Looser strands of looped beads decorate the bottom of the bag like a fringe.

Front and flap: Leaves and other foliage and possibly two berries (?); Back: A bird with wings outstretched holding possibly a branch with foliage and three berries (?)

Birds with wings held up were typically known to be Tuscarora; whereas birds depicted with wings held down against their bodies were known to be Mohawk.

Label written on inside flap in Dutch: "Taschje vervaardigd door de Tuscarora Ind. New York"; English translation: "Little bag made by the Tuscarora Indians New York". Bag was very tight or stiff, could not open fully to see the inside.

Museum documentation

Collected by Herman ten Kate around 1880. Purchased from Herman ten Kate in 1883.

Pieter Hovens, with contributions by Duane Anderson, Ted Brasser, Laura van Broekhoven et al. "The Ten Kate Collection 1882-1888". Leiden: ZKF Publishers, 2010.