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Black Dyed "Roll Up" Bag

Native American, Menominee
1800–1825

Medium/Technique Buckskin (Deer Hide), Dye, Porcupine Quills, thread, and sinew
Dimensions Length x width: 58.4 × 15.9 cm (23 × 6 1/4 in.)
Credit Line Museum purchase with funds from the Frank B. Bemis Fund, the Peterson Family in honor of Ethan Lasser, the William Francis Warden Fund, and the Hilsinger Janson Fund for Native American Art
Accession Number2021.149
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas
This work bag or wall pocket, made by an unidentified Menominee artist, is a rare and outstanding example of early quillwork that survives in extraordinary intact condition. The Menominee (Omaeqnomenew-ahkew) are located in the Great Lakes Region, which includes Wisconsin and parts of Michigan and Illinois. This piece may have once held tools and materials for the production of quillwork, including needles, sinew, thread, and quills. The exceptional quality of the quillwork suggest that it was the property of a master quill worker who would have employed it to create both scared and secular objects. Alternatively, this piece could have been made for an Anglo/European patron for use in their own home. Placed in an easily accessibly location, wall pockets of various styles, sizes, and quality, were used to hold letter, magazines, or cards, as well as flowers and other utilitarian household items. (European example, made of cotton and silk, are in the MFA collection).

The decoration on this piece combines Indigenous designs and techniques with Anglo/European influences. It is made from deer hide, likely dyed with iron and tannin to create the black-brown surface that provided a strong color contrast with the dyed porcupine quills adorning its surface. The top of the pouch depicts a spread-armed Euro-American soldier wearing a bicorn military hat, which scholars associate with the War of 1812. This figure occupies a space usually reserved for the image of a manitou or another embodiment of spiritual power. Manitous are believed to be present in natural phenomena such as animals, plants, and even weather. The Anglo imagery present in this location suggests that it may have been created for the outside market. The other three panels feature abstracted folio designs, such as forked and double curves, and are separated by band called "otter tracks" and other patterns in alternating colors of red, white, black, and yellow. Each panels features a bilaterally split form with triangular and diamond shaped projections.

This artwork will have a transformative impact on the MFA's Native American collections and help to expand and diversify both the range of communities and the type of object we represent at the Museum. The MFA does not have an indigenous wall pockets/work bags in the collection, nor any artworks by Menominee artists. This bag will also add depth to our collection of 19th century quillwork.

ProvenanceSamuel E. Haslett (b. 1836 - d. 1920), New York; 1920, bequest of Haslett to the Brooklyn Museum, New York (accession nos. 28794 and 28.156); 1972, deaccessioned by the Brooklyn Museum and sold. About 1970s, James Economos (dealer; b. 1938- d. 2018), Santa Fe, NM. By 1982, Herbert G. Wellington (b. 1920- d. 2005), Locust Valley, NY [see note 1]; sold by Wellington to Edward Jalbert, Westborough, MA and Ocean Ridge, FL; sold by Jalbert to Charles and Valerie Diker, New York; 2006, sold by Charles and Valerie Diker back to Edward Jalbert; 2021, sold by Jalbert to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 14, 2021)