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Shoulder bag

ca. 1780
Not on view
Porcupine quills are applied in three distinct ways on this late eighteenth-century shoulder pouch. For the horizontal panels, the artist loom wove colorfully dyed quills. Across the bottom and top, she sewed naturally white quills directly onto the black-dyed leather to create a zigzag motif. Finally, she wrapped dyed quills around alternating pairs of leather thongs for the strap, giving it a distinctive netlike structure. This type of netted quillwork disappeared by the early nineteenth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shoulder bag
  • Date: ca. 1780
  • Geography: Possibly made in Minnesota, United States; Possibly made in Wisconsin, United States; Possibly made in Ontario, Canada
  • Culture: Anishinaabe, probably Ojibwa, Native American
  • Medium: Tanned leather, porcupine quills, dye, metal cones, deer hair, vegetal fiber, and wool yarn
  • Dimensions: 21 1/2 × 7 3/4 in. (54.6 × 19.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of Native American Art, Gift of Charles and Valerie Diker, 2018
  • Object Number: 2018.867.4
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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War club, Wood, pigment and nail, Anishinaabe, probably Ojibwa, Native American
War club
Anishinaabe, probably Ojibwa, Native American
ca. 1750
Shoulder bag (missing strap), Tanned leather, porcupine quills, dye, glass beads, silk ribbon, metal cones, and deer hair, Anishinaabe, possibly Mississauga Ojibwa, Native American
Shoulder bag (missing strap)
Anishinaabe, possibly Mississauga Ojibwa, Native American
ca. 1800
Belt pouch, Tanned leather, porcupine quills, dye, metal cones, and deer hair, Haudenosaunee/ Iroquois (?), Native American
Belt pouch
Haudenosaunee/ Iroquois (?), Native American
ca. 1800
Bowl, Maple, Anishinaabe, probably Ottawa, Native American
Bowl
Anishinaabe, probably Ottawa, Native American
ca. 1800
Blanket strip, Tanned leather, glass beads, horsehair, porcupine quills, dye, wool cloth, and brass bells, Niimíipuu / Nez Perce , Native American
Blanket strip
Niimíipuu / Nez Perce , Native American
ca. 1850

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