Bandolier Bag
Ojibwa
Description
Subject Matter:
Woodlands women gradually developed the style and design of this bandolier bag. Early contact woodlands bags were made of hide and worn tucked into a belt. In the eighteenth century, these women adopted the non-Native military style of the bandolier bag, and began to experiment with new materials and techniques, including fabrics, ribbons, quillwork, and beading.
Floral motifs came to prominence in the nineteenth century. These designs replaced the earlier geometric and cosmological symbols of earlier bags. Floral subject matter likely came from non-Native sources, such as religious institutions and schools that encouraged the domestic arts among their Native female students. Woodlands women adapted this subject matter into their own rich and unique visual language and methods of making and producing bags such as this one for both internal tribal use and external sale to non-Native markets.
Physical Description:
Large rectangular beaded bag with wide shoulder strap. Body of bag is white with a blue and yellow floral motif. Top of bag is black with floral design. Strap is white with floral design. Red and black fringe on the bottom.
Usage Rights:
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