Iroquoian Transitional Quillwork

Haudenosaunee Transitional Quilled Bags

There has been a resurgence of interest in the old traditional arts in Haudenosaunee country. I have had the honor of witnessing this first hand. Craftspeople like Kiera Pike (Mohawk) and Jamie Jacobs (Seneca) Samantha Jacobs (Seneca) and Cory McComber (Mohawk) have been applying what a few have been able to glean from the old objects and old documents and have been creating a neo-traditional school of Haudenosaunee arts. I want to continue to support and broaden this resurgence by adding some thoughts and ideas into where this all went long ago. 

There is a clear difference between pre 1800 hair embroidery of the Northeast and the very well known souvenir beadwork from the 19th century. For many people that particular style of decorative work has really come to be regarded as the most "Iroquoian" in style and fashion. But the "old" fashioned work of the colonial period seems to have died away quickly after 1800. Probably due to a lot of outside factors, new agricultural and economic pressures, a lack of the need for certain objects related to warfare or war-related status, market-driven pressure to produce more objects for the tourist market which has shifted from war-time souvenirs collected during military service to true tourist collecting. Whatever the reasons were the fact remains that a shift had occurred in the artistic and stylistic traditions in Haudenosaunee art and craft which would reverberate until today. 

There exists however, a short period of time during the late 18th c and into the early 19th c where some artisans were attempting to keep up with the demand for authentic Iroquoian work without a complete shift to the new glass beaded work which was soon to dominate. It is during this period that a man named Morgan becomes so important. 

Lewis Henry Morgan was very successful at establishing a lasting decorative legacy for Haudenosaunee people when he formed his famous collection and wrote about the objects and much more in "League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or Iroquois" It would be his collection of Haudenosaunee objects housed ultimately in the New York State Museum which would form the foundation of Iroquois material culture studies. Sadly the museum caught fire in 1911 and much of the collection was destroyed. Some of the material survives for study however they still exhibit the scorch marks from 1911.

Twined cornhusk bottle from the Moragn collection showing scorch marks from the fire in 1911. NYSM

What does survive is an incredible assemblage of important material. Morgan was able to collect not only valuable objects from makers who were some of the last to practice their disciplines but also during a time when knowledge of the pre 1800 period was still fresh. 

Morgan was able to collect the bag below during the 1849-1850 period. Elements of the old fashioned "bandolier" style bags of the 18th century can be seen, however, the shape of the bag and the lack of dyed leather is evidence of the evolution of Haudenosaunee style. 

Lewis Henry Morgan Collection, New York State Museum

The Morgan bag and its contemporary works might be the last era of continuous Haudenosaunee quillwork and moosehair embroidery traditions. It would be another hundred years before an attempt would be made at resurrecting these old artforms.  

The bag below from the Royal Ontario Museum seems to follow a similar style as the Morgan bag with some important differences. The quill decorated decorated and cloth-backed strap are the most obvious differences. The shape of the pouch itself however is very much in line with the Morgan bag. However this bag has a ribbon edging which is seen in almost every other "transitional" bag I have found. 

Iroquoian Shoulder Bag, Dr. Orohyatekha collection, 911.3.125 Royal Ontario Museum

I would have to place this bag into an earlier time period than the mid 19th c Morgan bag. It was collected by Dr. Orohyatekha, aka Peter Martin a Mohawk physician who became interested in collecting Native art in the later 19th century. His collection is primarily housed in teh Royal Ontario Museum. 

Here we see the classic form of 19th century beaded bags which lasts through into the 20th c. However the bag retains the old quillwork decorations much of it in single-quill "line-work".  The floral motifs mirror the later beaded versions as does the silk ribbon trim and two-bead edging. 

I will ad some other example which I have gleaned from auction catalogs and other museums that all seem to fit into a stylistic group of transitional bags. 

Skinner February2017

Bonhams September 2006

Transitional Bag, 19633 NMAI

Transitional Bag, Minneapolis Institute of Art

I want to show a continuous chain of styles which can be used to usher in the classic 19th century beaded purses we see so often. I am including this bag below to illustrate my point.

The last bag we should pay attention to is this amazing piece of transitional work at the National Museum of the American Indian. It is stylistically and aesthetically an exceptional piece probably from the Seneca people. The form and complicated iconography rendered in porcupine quills is a real challenge to fully absorb.

The form is familiar to the earlier colonial era work and yet is a departure from the constraints of the past. A modern button closure seems to be evidence of its transitional nature. The color palette also relates well to this transitional period. The lack of dark background is a common theme for this period of quillwork. The older traditions demand a dark field to work on. One of elements of this bag which is unusual for a shoulder-worn bag is that the obverse is also decorated. Shoulder-worn quilled bags from the pre-1800's do not exhibit this feature. It is more in line with quilled drawstring bags of the earlier colonial period. 

This last bag image was pinched from Ruth Phillips book "Trading Identities" it was collected prior to 1850 by a Cpt. Rensallaer Foote. 

The last piece I want to show doesn't fit into the category of bags we are looking at but I think the style of quillwork and ribbon trim with beaded edging does warrant a peek. It is also part of the NMAI collection and is essentially a quilled wallet - possible for holding trade cards or even paper money. 

I hope to continue to post to this blog down the road. I think these quick posts might be the way to proceed in a more frequent way. Nyaweh! 

To bring this all to an end I hope that the images are explanation enough for this quick idea I have had for a while. A more formal paper is possible but I am currently trying to finish my work on embroidered tumplines so this short blog posting will have to be enough for now.