Knowledge Sharing Platform
shoulder bag of Chief John Tecumseh Henry
shoulder bag of Chief John Tecumseh Henry
shoulder bag of Chief John Tecumseh Henry
Shoulder bag made in the 1860s-1870s of deer hide, dyed quills, silk tape and size 12 seed beads. This item is referred to as a belt pouch; however, it is not worn folded over a belt as is usually indicated by this term but, rather, worn over the shoulder. Motifs include zig-zag lines, equal armed cross, spirals, and floral imagery. Dr. Oronhyatekha Ethnology collection.
John Tecumseh Henry was Anishinaabe
GRASAC generated
Read More About This Relative
Lightly smoked home tanned deer hide, dyed red, purple, red-orange, blue and undyed white porcupine quills, blue silk tape, size 12 white seed beads, calico lining on pouch and strap, cotton thread,
Pouch with rounded bottom and flap, of one piece with the back with a triangular front edge front and back are separate pieces of hide, long shoulder strap attached to back of pouch, aniline dies used in the quill or moosehair work
Central equal-armed cross, tri-lobed motifs, three four-petaled motifs, curving frond-like motifs ending in spirals. A long zig-zag runs along the strap with projecting star-like, tri-lobes, and leaf-like motifs.
The presence of aniline dye indicates a date after the late 1850s, when these dyes were introduced. The use of porcupine quillwork and the stylized motifs make it unlikely that it was made much after the 1870s
Provenance
F. Barlow Cumberland, Catalogue and Notes of the Oronhyatekha Historical Collection (Toronto: Independent Order of Foresters, 1904), p 21,
Item 57. "Belt Pouch of Chief John Tecumseh Henry. This pouch, made of buckskin and highly decorated with porcupine quills, was used by messengers in carrying the 'wampum belts' which conveyed information from one tribe to another and served also as a token of recognition and responsibility. See 118."
About This GRASAC Record
Unknown Anishinaabe artist, shoulder bag of Chief John Tecumseh Henry. Currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, 911.3.125. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2008; GRASAC item id 1551.
GRASAC team research trip to the Royal Ontario Museum, Dec 15-19 2008, funded by SSHRC Aboriginal Research Grant. Participants: Heidi Bohaker, Alan Corbiere, Lewis Debassige, Anne De Stecher, Darlene Johnston, Stacey Loyer, Trudy Nicks, Ruth Phillips
Dec 16 Ethnography team: Cory Willmott, Anne De Stecher, Trudy Nicks, and Ruth Phillips assisted by Tracey Forester.