Beaded Hat
Culture
Haudnosaunee
Dateabout 1870s
Mediumvelvet, glass beads, silk and metal sequins
Dimensions11.1 x 27.9 x 14.6 cm (4 3/8 x 11 x 5 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsCostumes and Accessories
Credit LineGift of John H. and Dorothy Shea in memory of their daughter, Eileen Shea Spingler
Object number1998.177
Label TextThis Scottish-style cap made by a Haudenosaunee artist using European materials documents cross-cultural exchange and the adaptation and persistence of Indigenous artistic traditions. The Haudenosaunee tribes—living throughout present-day New York State, southeastern Canada, and the Ohio River Valley—began trading with Europeans in the 1600s.Indigenous women acquired new materials—including glass beads, cotton and wool fabrics, and silk ribbons—which they incorporated into their traditional decoration of clothing and other items. In turn, they produced beadwork goods to sell to white traders and the tourists who flocked to the region after the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Prized for elaborate designs like the birds and leaves adorning this cap, Haudenosaunee beadwork provided tribes with a vital source of income and an outlet for cultural expression.ProvenanceHurst Gallery, Cambridge, MA; John H. and Dorothy Shea; to Worcester Art Museum, 1998
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 3001
Chinese
about 1875, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Chinese
19th century, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
