Minneapolis Institute of Art

Pincushion

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) artist

Date

c. 1900

Medium

Beads, cotton, velvet

Culture

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Rectangular pincushions were the most popular kind of whimsey. They present beautiful blends of Iroquois and Victorian design elements. Lush, vibrant velvets were recently developed and popular in American fashion in the late 19th century. Iroquois artists incorporated these new materials as backgrounds for their beadwork. Women frequently beaded floral, bird, and berry motifs onto whimsies and other items. These images carried significance for the Iroquois because they reflect the importance of the natural world in their way of life. Floral elements would have spoken to Euro-American women differently as flowers were symbolic of femininity and domesticity. Scallop shapes along the edges; represent the double curve design, an old motif in Iroquois beadwork that symbolizes the sky-dome which is significant in Iroquois oral tradition. Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), United States, Americas

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