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Tobacco Bag

ca. 1890
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A Cheyenne woman created this bag to hold a warrior’s pipe and sacred tobacco; he would have carried it on important occasions as an element of formal dress. The bag is distinguished by its rich variation in form, color, texture, and materials. Informed by the warrior’s ties to the Native American Church, the artist beaded four long-necked birds (anhingas) on the tabs at the top.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tobacco Bag
  • Date: ca. 1890
  • Geography: United States, Oklahoma
  • Culture: Southern Cheyenne
  • Medium: Native-tanned leather, glass beads, cornhusk, pigment, deer hooves, sheep hair
  • Dimensions: 9 1/2 × 42 1/2 in. (24.1 × 108 cm)
  • Classification: Hide-Costumes
  • Credit Line: Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection (107BE)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing