Skip to main content
Collections Menu

Cap

Date1847-1854
DimensionsOverall (Cap Dimensions): 14 3/4 × 7 1/4 × 4 in. (37.5 × 18.4 × 10.2 cm)
Object numberT0041
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThis Mi'kmaq cap was presented to Lord Elgin, British governor general to Canada during his stay there from 1847 to 1853. The cap is an excellent example of fine ribbon appliqué work which Mi'kmaq women developed in the early 19th century. Narrow bands of ribbon with straight, scalloped and peaked edging demanded fine stitching. The bright ribbon provides vibrant contrast to the black trade cloth while colorful silk rosettes and the black-dyed ostrich feathers add an elegant flamboyance to the cap.
Exhibition History"The 45th Annual Winter Antique Show," New York, NY, January 12, 1999 – January 25, 1999.

"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 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.
ProvenanceBelieved to have been given as a presentation piece to James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin and the 12th Earl of Kincardine, governor-general of Canada, during his residency 1847-1853; descended in the Elgin family to the 11th Earl of Elgin and the 15th Earl of Kincardine, Dunfermline, Scotland
BibliographyWhitehead, Ruth. "I have Lived here Since the World Began: Atlantic Coast Artistic Traditions," I the Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada's First People, edited by Juila Harrison. Calgary: Glenbow Museum, 1987, p. 25, fig. 13.

Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.25.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.84.

Brasser, Theodore. Native American Clothing: An Illustrated History. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2009. p. 56.

Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collections.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010. p. 47.

Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” American Indian Art Magazine 36, no. 4 (Autumn 2011). p. 82, fig. 12.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 96.

LaBar, Laureen. "Maine Quilts: 250 Years of Comfort and Community." Maine State Museum, Augusta, Maine and Down East Books, An imprint of Rowan and Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. Lanham, MD, 2021. p. 48.
On View
On view
Moccasins
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
c. 1840
Bandolier Bag
Anishinaabe (Ojibwa)
c. 1860
Otterskin Bag
Ho-Chunk (Winnebago)
c. 1890
Leggings
Lakota (Teton Sioux)
c. 1890
Bandolier Bag
Anishinaabe (Ojibwa)
c. 1890
Pouch
Metis-Lakota (Teton Sioux)
c. 1850
The Last of the Mohicans
Felix Octavius Carr Darley
n.d.
Artist's Box
Unidentified Artist
c. 1845-1880
Moccasin
Wendat (Huron)
c. 1838
Moccasins
Seneca (Haudenosaunee)
1790-1810
Anne Crommelin Bowers Lee
Unidentified Artist
c. 1850
Canoe Model
Mary Kooyik (Mani Kueyik)
1847-1854

5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

close

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required