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Beaded vest with overlay stitch and plant designs / Native American; possibly Nez Perce or Shoshone

Essay/Description

“Ute artist Toweys vest” overlay stitch, plant designs. Note: “Possibly Nez Perce or Shoshone overlay stitch. After 1900.”

Vests covered in beads did not become prevalent until the 1890s and 1900s, when beadwork had become popular and beads easily accessible. The vests typically were decorated with geometric designs, though some of the more northern Plains tribes began using floral patterns much later (Paterek 1994, 87).

The Plains and Plateau Indians decorated their clothing and hides with quillwork, paint, and fringe not only because of the aesthetics, but because the beautification “did honor to the spirit of the animal” (Furst and Furst 1982, 165). Animal skins possessed spirit power from the original animals because the skins had given the animals their forms. Therefore, if people decorate the skin, thus honoring it, the animal will send its goodwill to the people.

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Title(s): 
Beaded vest with overlay stitch and plant designs
Culture: 
Native American; possibly Nez Perce or Shoshone
Date: 
early 20th century
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
Washington, United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
glass, velvet, silk
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.1769
Department: 
Not On View

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