- Ethnohistorical collection
Needle case
This needle case is composed of two braided shells made of red-tinted bark and sweetgrass. Each is adorned with a handle made of red bark, and they are joined together by a seam made of thick pale pink thread. Inside, two round pieces of yellowed cloth are used to pin the needles. Seven metal needles are pinned to them. Their cat is gold-tinted. Yellowed thread hangs from one of the needles.
- Materials fiber, cotton, metal, wood
- Measurements 1,8 x 7,5 x 6,3 cm
- Accession Number 2021.59.251
Historical context
Fancy or decorative needlework was a popular pastime for bourgeois women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sewing was also an important part of domestic life. With these popular activities in mind, the natives involved in the tourist art market adapted their traditional techniques and forms to appeal to the tastes of tourists, creating a variety of objects, including small elements linked to the world of couture. In the case of these ...
needle case
Fancy or decorative needlework was a popular pastime for bourgeois women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sewing was also an important part of domestic life. With these popular activities in mind, the natives involved in the tourist art market adapted their traditional techniques and forms to appeal to the tastes of tourists, creating a variety of objects, including small elements linked to the world of couture. In the case of these hybrid objects, it is often the materials used, the techniques employed and sometimes the proposed decoration that confirm an indigenous origin. This piece of sweetgrass basketry interwoven with a base of black ash strips suggests native craftsmanship from the woodlands of the Northeast.
In the early 20th century, this piece sold for $1.10 a dozen on the open market.
- Materials fiber, cotton, metal, wood
- Measurements 1,8 x 7,5 x 6,3 cm
- Accession Number 2021.59.251
Pointe-à-Callière Collection, gift of Jacques Lacaille, 2021.59.251
Photo by Victor Diaz Lamich
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