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Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
ProvenanceMaurice G. Derumeau Collection, Paris, France; Walter M. Banko, Montreal, Quebec; Jonathan Holstein, Cazenovia, New York
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.44.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.170.
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. 186.
Culture
Red River Metis
Bag
Datec. 1820
DimensionsOverall: 15 1/2 × 9 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (39.4 × 24.1 × 6.4 cm)
Object numberT0091
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextIn the western fur trade country these panel bags were called fire bags because they held the flint and steel used to make fire. They served a number of other functions as well, including the carrying of pipe and tobacco. By 1820 the variety of geometric designs on the woven panels decreased, but there are still rectangles in the corners and triangles in between. The two rosettes on the upper part of the bag decorate the openings for the bag's closing straps (now missing). Such rosettes became a characteristic feature on panel and octopus bags of the Metis. (c.f. Brasser 1976, p.173, fig.186) The diamond figure with paired volutes on each point may well be a contribution of Haudeosaunee origin. From 1800, if not earlier, Haudenosaunee from the St. Lawrence River joined the fur trade brigades as canoe paddlers and, once in the West, worked frequently as trappers for the company. Most of them returned home again, and some of the early panel and octopus bags have come from their reservations. Some of these people remained in the West and joined Metis communities. They may have provided the source of some typical Haudenosaunee designs such as on this bag. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
ProvenanceMaurice G. Derumeau Collection, Paris, France; Walter M. Banko, Montreal, Quebec; Jonathan Holstein, Cazenovia, New York
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.44.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.170.
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. 186.
On View
On view
