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Woman's bodice with spangles, ribbons, and talisman of beads
Woman's bodice with spangles, ribbons, and talisman of beads
Woman's bodice with spangles, ribbons, and talisman of beads
A Mesquakie woman's shirt with silk ribbons, appliqued floral motifs and a loom-woven geometric panel. Collected by Mary Alicia Owen near Tama, Iowa in the late 19th century. Acquired by Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1976.
Mesquakie - from museum documentation. The Mesquakie are Great Lakes people who settled in the Plains, having moved to Iowa during the 1850s.
Museum documentation and the GRASAC research team.
Read More About This Relative
light-weight royal blue wool; silk ribbon, red, light blue; wide red brocade? ribbon; grey-green floral patterned ribbon; white cotton lining; large metal sequins or disks; glass beads in opaque white, medium (greasy?) blue, green, rose, orange, red and greasy yellow; glass button; thread
This shirt is made of wool and lined with cotton. Single lines of blue and red ribbons are sewn horizontally along upper part of the shirt, just below the neckline, which is edged in red ribbon and closes with a small button or snap. The ribbons hang loose at both ends. Above the blue ribbon runs a row of metal sequins or discs, which turns into a double vertical row when they reach the arms of the shirt. The floral motifs on the front are sewn on to wool backing. There is a loomed beadwork panel sewn to the centre front of the shirt. On the back are two vertical lines of a floral patterned ribbon, both flanked by a double rows of metal sequins or disks. A double line of cream and red ribbon runs horizontally near the top, with extra ribbon on both sides hanging loose, similar to the ribbons on the front. A line of metal sequins or discs run in vertically inward arcing lines on both sides of the back. The bottom is edged with a line of wide red ribbon or brocade, topped with a row of metal sequins or discs on the back side.
Floral and otter-tail motifs.
It appears that the floral glass beaded motifs on the front were cut from an older piece and appliqued to this shirt.
Provenance
Collected by Mary Alicia Owen near Tama, Iowa in the late 19th century. Acquired by Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1976.
About This GRASAC Record
Unknown Mesquakie artist, Woman's bodice with spangles, ribbons, and talisman of beads. Currently in the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, D 1976.147. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip May 2009; GRASAC item id 1320.
This record was created as part of a GRASAC research trip to Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 4-9 2009.
Researchers present: Trudy Nicks, Stacey Loyer, Ruth Phillips, and Rachel Hand.