Sewing Kit or Barrel Purse
Mohawk (Haudenosaunee)
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)
Northeast Woodlands
Woodlands
1860s-1870s
Cloth, paperboard, cotton, glass beads, thread, and metal
Overall: 3 15/16 × 2 3/8 × 1 15/16 in. (10 × 6 × 5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Mrs. William M. Leeds
13.13.762
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Tools and Equipment: Sewing
Research Area
Native American
Native American: Woodlands
Not on view
Label
A Mohawk or Iroquois woman made this small purse or sewing kit by rolling stiff paperboard into the shape of a cylinder—or barrel—giving it this distinct form. The name “barrel purse” derived from people who sought fortune and fame by going over Niagara Falls in barrels. Works such as this would have been marketed and sold in the region to White tourists.
From the 2024 exhibition Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Exhibition History
Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 18, 2024 - late 2025.
Provenance
Probably acquired by William M. Leeds (1829-1886) during his time working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, about 1876-1879; to his wife, Catharine G. Lockwood Leeds (1825-1913), New York; given to present collection, about 1879-1888; catalogued, 1913.
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