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Exhibition History"Art Des Indiens D'Amerique Du Nord Dans La Collection D'Eugene Thaw," Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, Somogy Editions D'Art, January 21, 2000 - March 18, 2000.
"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
ProvenanceAcquired by Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs in Ohio, between 1787 and 1801; descended in family (family tradition has it that Meigs acquired this pouch from local Delaware Indians in 1795); this tradition almost certainly relates to the pouch T0009 also acquired by Col. Meigs; Sotheby's, New York City, 1991
BibliographyVan Norman Turano, Jane. "Sotheby's New YorkTwo Very Special Family Collections." Maine Antique Digest, February 1992, pp.46-B & 47-B.
Vincent, Gilbert T. "The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art." The Magazine Antiques. Vol CXLVIII, no. 1, (July 1995): p.68, pl.XII.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry S. Abrams, 1995, p.15.
Feest, Christian. "Tab Pouches of Northeastern North America." American Indian Art Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 4, (Autumn 1997): p.38; fig. 4 & 5 & pp.36-37.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, pp. 64-65.
Miller, Angels L., Janet C. Berlo, Bryan J. Wolf and Jennifer L. Roberts. American Art, History, and Culture Identity Encouters. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008, pg. 36.
Getlein, Mark. Living with Art, 9th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, pg. 463.
Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collections.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010. pp. 27-29.
Brownlee, Peter John, Piccoli, Valeria and Uhlyarik, Georgiana (eds), Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2015. Fig. 7 & 8, p. 95.
Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 11.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection a the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 67.
Culture
Odawa or cultural relatives
Bag
Datec. 1790
DimensionsOverall: 6 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (16.5 × 52.1 cm)
Object numberT0008
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThe fundamental concepts of sky, earth and underworld are represented in this bag’s quillwork design by the Thunderbird (sky), a stylized plant form on a horizontal band (earth), and abstracted reptiles reduced to two diagonal lines (underwater creatures). On the reverse two turtles are represented below the plant forms on the horizontal band. The Thunderbird (sky) and the Underwater Panther (underworld) are empowering forces that dominate the realms respectively above and below the surface of the earth. The iconography on bags such as this represents an individual’s visionary experience attained through fasting and prayer.Exhibition History"Art Des Indiens D'Amerique Du Nord Dans La Collection D'Eugene Thaw," Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, Somogy Editions D'Art, January 21, 2000 - March 18, 2000.
"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
ProvenanceAcquired by Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs in Ohio, between 1787 and 1801; descended in family (family tradition has it that Meigs acquired this pouch from local Delaware Indians in 1795); this tradition almost certainly relates to the pouch T0009 also acquired by Col. Meigs; Sotheby's, New York City, 1991
BibliographyVan Norman Turano, Jane. "Sotheby's New YorkTwo Very Special Family Collections." Maine Antique Digest, February 1992, pp.46-B & 47-B.
Vincent, Gilbert T. "The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art." The Magazine Antiques. Vol CXLVIII, no. 1, (July 1995): p.68, pl.XII.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry S. Abrams, 1995, p.15.
Feest, Christian. "Tab Pouches of Northeastern North America." American Indian Art Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 4, (Autumn 1997): p.38; fig. 4 & 5 & pp.36-37.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, pp. 64-65.
Miller, Angels L., Janet C. Berlo, Bryan J. Wolf and Jennifer L. Roberts. American Art, History, and Culture Identity Encouters. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008, pg. 36.
Getlein, Mark. Living with Art, 9th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, pg. 463.
Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collections.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010. pp. 27-29.
Brownlee, Peter John, Piccoli, Valeria and Uhlyarik, Georgiana (eds), Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2015. Fig. 7 & 8, p. 95.
Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 11.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection a the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 67.
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