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Woman's wearing blanket with ribbon work and four ribbon hands / Unknown

Essay/Description

A fine Osage wearing blanket decorated with ribbon work strips, nickel silver brooches, and applique hand design outlined in beads. 9 short bands of vertical ribbon work are side-by-side along the bottom. At the corners (additional) 1 1/2-inch width strips extend up further bounding both sides. The inside of the bottom row and the two sides are outlined with white cut and fold saw tooth ribbon applique. Inside the bounded field created by the ribbon work borders are four hand-shaped cut outs evenly spaced in a horizontal row. These are purple in color and are outlined in double row of white beads. A nickel silver brooch is attached to the blue wool blanket on each side of the hands (top center, left center, right center, and bottom center). The "middle" hands share brooches with their neighbors. The total is four hands surrounded originally by 13 brooches. Of this number the bottom concho under the left (facing) hand is lost, leaving 12 present. The ribbon work is executed in the following colors: light blue, white, yellow, pink, green, and purple. On the top of the wool blanket, a "rainbow" selvage pattern is present.

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Title(s): 
Woman's wearing blanket with ribbon work and four ribbon hands
Creator(s): 
Unknown
Culture: 
Native American; Osage
Date: 
mid-20th century
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
Osage county, Oklahoma, United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
wool, rayon, nickel silver, glass, cotton
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Credit Line: 
Purchased with funds provided by the Frankie Van Johnson Fund
Accession No: 
84.2960
Previous Number(s): 
TL1997.102.1; TL1997.102
Department: 
Not On View

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