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Blackfoot Hide Pipe Bag, Quillwork and Bead Panel
Blackfoot, northern Plains
1870-1880
Native hide, porcupine quillwork, glass beads, sinew
Length with fringe 33" (83.8 cm)
Provenance: Private Pacific Northwest collection
Pipe bags among the Blackfoot served both practical and ceremonial functions, holding the sacred pipes and tobacco essential to prayer, diplomacy, and ritual life across the northern Plains. The combination of porcupine quillwork and beadwork decoration on a single object reflects a transitional moment in Blackfoot material production, when the older quillwork tradition continued alongside the glass beads that became widely available through trade from the mid-19th century onward. The unusual integration of both techniques on this bag marks it as a deliberate expression of the maker's full range of decorative skill.
This bag is constructed from native hide with a beaded panel at the base featuring a diamond motif in navy and white, framed by quillwork elements above, with hide fringe throughout. The restrained color palette and geometric clarity of the beaded panel are consistent with Blackfoot decorative conventions of the 1870s. Provenance traces to a private Pacific Northwest collection.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Blackfoot, northern Plains
1870-1880
Native hide, porcupine quillwork, glass beads, sinew
Length with fringe 33" (83.8 cm)
Provenance: Private Pacific Northwest collection
Pipe bags among the Blackfoot served both practical and ceremonial functions, holding the sacred pipes and tobacco essential to prayer, diplomacy, and ritual life across the northern Plains. The combination of porcupine quillwork and beadwork decoration on a single object reflects a transitional moment in Blackfoot material production, when the older quillwork tradition continued alongside the glass beads that became widely available through trade from the mid-19th century onward. The unusual integration of both techniques on this bag marks it as a deliberate expression of the maker's full range of decorative skill.
This bag is constructed from native hide with a beaded panel at the base featuring a diamond motif in navy and white, framed by quillwork elements above, with hide fringe throughout. The restrained color palette and geometric clarity of the beaded panel are consistent with Blackfoot decorative conventions of the 1870s. Provenance traces to a private Pacific Northwest collection.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.