Panel Bag
- Culture
- Cree artist
- Date
- c.1900
- made in
- Canada, North and Central America
- Classification
- Containers, costume & clothing
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 17 × 13 in. (43.2 × 33 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Elizabeth B. and Robert Wells Streett
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 19:2022
NOTES
Swelling leaves and nested flowers repeat in a lush, asymmetrical composition. Panel bags–named for the loom-woven band at center—were historically widespread across central Canada. Cascading floral embroidery on this pouch reflects a regional style that Cree women developed around 1900 east of Lake Winnipeg.
Eastern Subarctic panel bags from this era generally lack wear, which suggests their roles as salable souvenirs and as items of occasional dress for Indigenous people.
Eastern Subarctic panel bags from this era generally lack wear, which suggests their roles as salable souvenirs and as items of occasional dress for Indigenous people.
Provenance
Private Collection, United Kingdom
by 1987 -
Taylor (Tad) and Sandy Dale, Santa Fe, NM, purchased in the United Kingdom [1]
2010/12/03
In auction of “American Indian Art,” at Heritage Auctions, New York, December 3, 2010, lot no. 50336 [2]
2010 - 2022
Elizabeth B. and Robert Wells Streett, St. Louis, MO [3]
2022 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Elizabeth B. and Robert Wells Streett [4]
Notes:
[1] In an email message dated April 22, 2022, Tad Dale wrote he acquired this bag in the UK “1977–1987 . . . I don’t recall who I bought it from, but I was searching for Native American material in England, mostly buying in the antique markets.” [SLAM document files]
[2] This bag was included in the December 3, 2010 "American Indian Art" auction at Heritage Auctions in New York. See online record of auction lot: https://fineart.ha.com/itm/painting/a-cree-beaded-cloth-fire-bag-c-1880/a/6051-50336.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515.
[3] The object tag from collector includes 10-93 inventory number; in the Streett collection, the first two digits of inventory numbers correspond to the year acquired, i.e., 10 stands for 2010. The entry for 10-93 is missing from the Streett collection inventory.
[4] Minutes of the Collections Committe of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 2, 2022.
by 1987 -
Taylor (Tad) and Sandy Dale, Santa Fe, NM, purchased in the United Kingdom [1]
2010/12/03
In auction of “American Indian Art,” at Heritage Auctions, New York, December 3, 2010, lot no. 50336 [2]
2010 - 2022
Elizabeth B. and Robert Wells Streett, St. Louis, MO [3]
2022 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Elizabeth B. and Robert Wells Streett [4]
Notes:
[1] In an email message dated April 22, 2022, Tad Dale wrote he acquired this bag in the UK “1977–1987 . . . I don’t recall who I bought it from, but I was searching for Native American material in England, mostly buying in the antique markets.” [SLAM document files]
[2] This bag was included in the December 3, 2010 "American Indian Art" auction at Heritage Auctions in New York. See online record of auction lot: https://fineart.ha.com/itm/painting/a-cree-beaded-cloth-fire-bag-c-1880/a/6051-50336.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515.
[3] The object tag from collector includes 10-93 inventory number; in the Streett collection, the first two digits of inventory numbers correspond to the year acquired, i.e., 10 stands for 2010. The entry for 10-93 is missing from the Streett collection inventory.
[4] Minutes of the Collections Committe of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 2, 2022.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.