Watch Fob

Watch Fob

Watch Fob

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Introduction

Fully beaded watch fob with fringes. Has two dominating motifs framed by linear bordering. A large crest with white stripes and blue crosses hover atop two crossing red, white, and yellow flags. A triangular top connects the fob to a string. Collected by Jonathan Tibbet and acquired by the Pomona College Museum of Art.

Date Made or Date Range: ca. 1890s to ca. 1920s
Materials

bead, glass; thread, cotton

Techniques or Format

A machined flat stitch holds together the watch fob.

Motifs and Patterns

A large crest hovers above two crossing flags. The crest has four white vertical stripes on the bottom red half of the motif, and four blue crosses in the top yellow half. The flag poles are white and have red and yellow striped flags hanging down.

Additional Context

The crest and flags could represent a nearby state or other Euro-American institution, or simply be referencing the United States in general.

Original and Subsequent Uses

The fob is mounted on a pocket watch as a counter weight and/or aesthetic accessory.
Source: Milham, Willis I. Time & timekeepers, including history, construction, care, and accuracy of clocks and watches. xix. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1923. Print.

Condition: Good, little evidence of use.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Nearly all Native American watch fobs were created between these years.

Source:
Ritt, Leonard G. "The curious-looking curio: American Indian beaded watch pouches with fobs." American Indian Art Magazine. 37. (2011): 36-43. Print.

Current Location: Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: P5275
Collection Narratives and Histories

Gift to the Pomona Museum collection.

GKS Reference Number: 25699
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