sword belt

sword belt

sword belt

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Introduction

A sword belt decorated with loom woven quillwork and beads. Anishinaabe or Cree, made between 1750 and 1815. Purchased by the British Museum from the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in 1921.

Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe Cree
Nation of Origin

Anishinaabe or Cree. The looped and striped beadwork is typically found on Cree items.

Date Made or Date Range: Mid 18 C to Early 19 C
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Created from information in the British Museum object catalogue and suggestions made by the GRASAC research team.

Materials

Hide, unsmoked; porcupine quills, natural and dyed green and red; leather thong; vegetable fibre thread; seed beads, white; pony beads, white, black, greasy yellow, translucent red, translucent blue; imitation wampum, green.

Techniques or Format

The strap's base is a piece of unsmoked hide. Attached to this base is a long strip of loom woven quillwork, with thong warp, vegetable fibre weft, and interwoven porcupine quills, natural and dyed green and red. The strap is edged with a single line of small white seed beads and both ends have a fringe of white pony beads, green tubular imitation wampum beads and black, yellow, red, blue glass beads. The bag's body also has a base of unsmoked hide. It is decorated with natural and dyed red, green and black porcupine quills and edged with two lines of pony beads, one yellow and one green.

Motifs and Patterns

Rectangles on the strap and stripes on the body.

Dimensions: 72 × 14.5 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Based upon materials.

Current Location: British Museum, London, UK
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: Am1921,1014.102
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1921
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Yorkshire Philosophical Society Museum
Collection Narratives and Histories

Purchased by the British Museum from the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in 1921.

Exhibition History

British Museum, North American Gallery: first peoples, first contact, June 1999.

Publication History

JCH King, 'First Peoples, First Contacts' (British Museum Press, 1999) p.61.

Comment on Source of Exhibition & Publication Data

British Museum object catalogue.

GKS Reference Number: 24978
How to Cite this Item

Unknown Anishinaabe/Cree artist, sword belt. Currently in the British Museum, Am,Dc.78. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2007; GRASAC item id 24978.

Record Creation Context

Researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), John Borrows (JB), Lindsay Borrows (LB), Alan Corbiere (AC), 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).

Record Creation Notes/Observations

Researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), John Borrows (JB), Lindsay Borrows (LB), Darlene Johnston (DJ), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Bruce Morito (BM), Ruth Phillips (RP), Cory Willmott (CW).

Approximate Place of Origin

43.0612, -78.4489

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