wall pocket

wall pocket

wall pocket

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Introduction

This pair of Huron-Wendat wall pockets is each made of a moose foot and hoof with possibly blackened hide flaps, decorated with four panels (two per wall pocket) decorated with moose hair embroidery in floral motifs, metal cones, fringes of dyed animal hair, and glass beads. Museum records indicate the wall pockets were purchased from Eckert in 1882.

These relatives currently reside in the Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, Netherlands.

Nation of Maker: Huron-Wendat
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Museum documentation

Date Made or Date Range: 1840-1860
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

GRASAC generated

Materials

moose(?) leg and hoof; red stroud; blue polished cotton; burgundy silk ribbon; red and blue cotton tape; pieces of possibly blackened hide(?); metal cones with dyed animal hair; glass beads

Techniques or Format

Each wall pocket is made of a moose foot, hoof and lower leg, backed or lined with blue polished cotton edged with red stroud(?) and burgundy silk ribbon. Two flaps or pockets made of blackened hide(?) bound with burgundy silk ribbon and embroidered with moose hair are sewn to the fronts. Short strings of glass beads and tiny metal cones with dyed animal hair ornament the moose foot front and the bottom edge of pockets. A braided handle of cotton tape is sewn at the top.

Motifs and Patterns

Floral

Other Notes

The pockets are criss-crossed pairs - the top pocket of one moose foot matches the bottom pocket on the other, and vice versa.
On March 15, 2024 Cara Krmpotich identified a strong similarity between the patches on the top right and bottom left in the photograph of the hangings with a set of patches in the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, Germany (IV-B-12723 A B) (GRASAC GKS ID 59171). These are linked as Related Items.

Dimensions: 57 × 17.5 × 0 cm
Condition: Some hair from moose foot missing, silk ribbon missing, some strings of beads with cones and animal hair missing.
Current Location: Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, Netherlands
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 494-11
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1882
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Eckert
Collection Narratives and Histories

Purchased from Eckert in 1882.

GKS Reference Number: 24952
How to Cite this Item

Wendat Maker, Name Unknown. Wall pockets. GRASAC ID 24952. Museum Volkenkunde Catalogue Number 494-11.

Record Creation Context

This record was updated on March 21, 2024 by Cara Krmpotich. The original record was created by Alex Nahwegahbow.

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