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Exhibition History"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.
"Floral Journey: Native North American Flower Beadwork," Autry National Center of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, February 18, 2014 - May 11, 2015.
ProvenancePrivate collection, England; Taylor A. Dale, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.170.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 79.
Dubin, Lois S. Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2014, fig. 199, p. 217.
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. 193.
Culture
Red River Metis
Bag
Datec. 1840
DimensionsOverall: 18 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (47 × 24.1 cm)
Object numberT0092
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThis type of bag is popularly called an "octopus" bag because of the four long, fabric fingers that hang down each side at the bottom, like the eight tentacles of an octopus. They are referred to by scholars, however, as “fire bags” because they traditionally held a man’s fire-making apparatus, a flint and steel. Today they are used mainly as regalia for dances, pow-wows, or other special occasions. The fine floral quillwork, different on each side of the bag, is typical of the work done by the Metis during this period.Exhibition History"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.
"Floral Journey: Native North American Flower Beadwork," Autry National Center of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, February 18, 2014 - May 11, 2015.
ProvenancePrivate collection, England; Taylor A. Dale, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.170.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 79.
Dubin, Lois S. Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2014, fig. 199, p. 217.
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. 193.
On View
On viewc. 1820-1840
