Fort-Shaped Pincushions

By Dolores Elliott

Archeologists define a projectile point type by listing the various characteristics that are shared by a quantity of points. Projectile points (dart, arrow, and spear points) vary widely in shape, size and material. Hundreds of different point types have been defined by archeologists who study the points used by ancient North American hunters
(over a period of some 12,000 years, point types changed tremendously).

Those points sharing similar traits are considered to have been made by members of a group of related people in a particular time period. If points from one site can be dated, it is assumed that other points of the same type at a different site date to the same time.

Likewise, types of Iroquois beadwork can be defined. As with points, pieces of Iroquois beadwork differ in shape, size and material used in construction. One such type is often referred to as the “fort-shaped” pincushion. These pincushions are shaped something like an 18th century North American fort. They range in size from 4.5 x 4.5 inches to 7.5 x 7.5 inches, the latter being the most common size. Most all of the pincushions are very firmly packed with sawdust.

Besides their shape, they share a couple more characteristics: they usually have four birds circling the center and those that have beaded words in the center have similar shaped letters; and the inscription “FROM NIAGARA FALLS” shares a wide letter “M” in by these fort-shaped pincushions, but is not seen on other pieces of beadwork with the same three words. So, in defining the type, it can be assumed that pieces of this type were sold at Niagara Falls. They were probably made by the same sewer. Those with similar shape with four birds but not identified as FROM NIAGARA FALLS can be assumed to be from there also. The wide Ms in the motto REMEMBER ME on one of the pincushions point to it belonging in this type. Another one with THINK OF ME on it also demonstrates this trait.

As for when the fort-shaped pincushions are made, there are some that are dated 1900 and 1901. Similar fort-shaped pincushions with no dates must also date to the turn of the century.

There are some pincushions that share some of the type characteristics but not all. Instead of having birds circling the center some feature four butterflies on the corners. It fits into the type. Likewise, another fort-shaped pincushion has four birds, but they are positioned on the corners instead of the sides.

Another set of pincushions that show a related type were probably made by the same bead worker. Instead of being fort-shaped, they are round-lobed pincushions. But they have birds circling the center and are labeled FROM NIAGARA FALLS with a wide M.

Other pincushions shaped like hearts or trilobe hearts may also share some characteristics with the fort-shaped pincushions and may have been made by the same bead worker, but that is for another essay.

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Iroquois Purses

By Dolores Elliott

Multicolored beaded flat purses are the most common form of Iroquois beadwork. They are easily recognized because they have brightly colored flowers beaded on both sides, and both sides are usually identical or very similar. At least ten different colored beads are usually used in two shades of five different colors: pink/red, yellow/amber, bright blue/ light blue, dark green/light green, white/clear. Almost all the purses have all the colors. The shades of the color vary, but they almost always have flowers in those colors. Most people, Indian and not, recognize these purses as being Iroquois-made.

These purses were made from the second quarter of the 19th century until the end of that century. The majority of these purses are so similar it might be thought that one person made them all, but that is not likely as they were made over a period of 75 years. It is estimated that over ten thousand of these purses were made. But if one person did not make them all, and no identical purses have been observed, how can they be so similar?

These flat purses are made by cutting four pieces of cardboard or heavy paper for the body and the flaps. Either black or dark brown velvet is attached to the backing. The design is beaded on to each of the four pieces. Flowers often have paper patterns so the needle had to penetrate three layers: the pattern, the velvet, and the stiffening material (thick paper, double newsprint, or cardboard).

The two body pieces and the two flaps are usually beaded with almost identical designs on each side of the purse. Each flap is lined with polished cotton and is attached to the top of the body piece. Then a fabric lining is sewn over the backing on the inside of the purse pieces. This lining covers up the stitches on the back of the beading. Then the two bodies with flaps attached are sewn together around the whole body, except for across the top, which is left open. Unless the purse is attached to a metal handle, there is no way to close the mouth of the purse. Sometimes a small slit is cut into the velvet under one of the flaps. The slit is lined and attached to a small pocket that some people think was meant to store a comb. A binding is sewn onto the edges of the purse body to cover the edges of each side. The binding is usually red but it is sometimes green, blue, or black.

A binding, which is often a delicate silk, is also sewn across each side of the mouth. It is usually a different binding than that used around the body of the purse.

Some purses are also decorated by a beaded fringe along the edge of the purse, attached to the binding. The fringe is often made of loops of smaller beads than the ones used on the faces of the purse. The edges of the flaps are also beaded but often with beads larger than the ones used on the rest of the purse. This is most obvious on the flaps where the beads outlining the flaps are almost always smaller than the beads that outline the flaps. Both sides of the purse are identical or almost identical with only small variations in bead color placement.

There are five basic shapes of these bags. Some are the urn-shaped, some hexagon-shaped, some rocker-shaped, some scalloped, and some the classic-shape. The classic shaped bag is the most common. Sometimes the beadwork is attached to a larger silk bag to make the purse look more elegant, as a ribbon handle and bead fringe make a pretty purse.

It is rare to find a purse with two flaps on each side, but there are some. There are also some purses that have no flap but only a line of beads indicating where a flap would be. A few purses have metal closures across the mouth. Some appear to be homemade, perhaps on the reservation. Others appear to be commercial closures made out of a stamped metal.

Antique sellers and museum provenience records sometimes identify these bags as “probably Tuscarora,” but I think that they were more likely made by Mohawk bead workers. One reason is that in at least one purse the paper stiffening is a French language Montreal newspaper. Montreal is close to three Mohawk reservations. Another reason is that just as on the purses, the Mohawks preferred the repeated four-color motif on their pincushions and picture frames. The purses almost always used this color scheme. One type of purse that features bird-like images is frequently identified as Tuscarora-made, claiming that the birds are images of Carolina parakeets that the Tuscaroras left in their homes when they moved north to join the Iroquois Confederacy. I think this is a recently created myth and that all of these purses were made by Mohawk bead workers.

There are several photographs of women selling beadwork at Niagara Falls, and others showing people selling Mohawk beadwork. There are no floral purses included in the photographs. So, the photos do not help us to discover where the purses were made. Maybe we will never know.

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Large Iroquois Pincushion

By Dolores Elliott

One of the most common forms of Iroquois pincushions is the large rectangular pincushion that often features a beaded bird on a field of purple velvet. A frame of beaded leaves surrounds the purple center. I estimate that at least 8,000 of these pincushions were made between 1870 and 1910.

The pieces pictured are typical purple pillow pincushions. They exhibit one or more birds and floral motif surrounded by a frame of leaves. The leaves alternate clear beads and colored beads. Furthermore, often the leaves made of blue beads are across from each other on the frame as are the red, green, and yellow leaves across from each other. Sometimes, the four colors are included in the center design also.

The pincushions range in size from about 5 x 7 inches to about 10.5 x 11 inches, with most measuring about 8.5 x 10 inches. They have an edging of clear beads around the entire outside of the pincushion. Sometimes there are loops at the four corners. Often, these edging beads are missing because they have been broken off during the last century. A fully stuffed pincushion may be as tall as 4 inches, although most do not stand that tall. Many of these pincushions weigh more than a pound and a half. Almost as common as the stuffed pincushions in collections are the flat tops. Some have no backing and were obviously the top of a pincushion that has been dismantled. But some still have the backing, indicating that the stuffing has been removed or the piece was never stuffed to begin with. Some may have been made to serve as mats.

The most common form of stuffing is sawdust, but other types of stuffing have been observed. Among the alternative stuffings are cotton and paper. Some pincushions may be stuffed with sweetgrass. The good, woodsy smell added to their appeal to Victorian tourist souvenirs.

The purple velvet on the top comes in various shades of purple with, the most common color a luscious magenta. Some of the purples have faded to a lavender, while some still are a deep rich royal purple. The velvet often shows the selvedge edge, showing along the edge demonstrating that every part of the velvet was used. A few of these are covered with red, blue, or green velvet, but these colors are very rare. A course cream-colored fabric covers the top of the pincushion under the frame of leaves. The back of the pincushion is usually a crisp, polished cotton in one of several colors. The most common polished cotton colors are pink, tan, red and blue. Often the back exhibits a water stain with no definitive cause. Did the pincushion sit on a washstand or did the sawdust leak out moisture? We are still deliberating the cause.

We are also deliberating the place where this type of beadwork was made. It was most likely made by Mohawk bead workers, but where they were living, we do not know. They probably lived on one of the reserves located near Montreal, Quebec.

As mentioned before, these pincushions (probably used for hat pins) are relatively common. There are usually three or four on eBay at all times. Although some optimistic sellers impressed by their beauty, no doubt, put a Buy It Now price of $500 or so, in reality they usually sell for $100 or less. The ones that show several birds or baskets or elaborate vines tend to sell for more than those with just one bird and a couple of simple flowers. The condition of the purple velvet is also a factor in their worth. One form that usually sells for several hundred dollars is the one with two American flags incorporated into the design with the bird. These are obviously made for the U.S. market even though they were probably made in Canada. European coat of arms and horses have also been observed beaded on these pincushions.

This form evolved into the 20th century using different designs, fabrics, and beads into the 1930s but continuing with the rectangular shape and the four colors.

In addition to those pictured here, you can see several examples of this kind of pincushion on web site of the Iroquois Studies Association at www.otsiningo.com.

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