Paint Pouch
Artist/Maker
American Indian
Datelate 19th–early 20th century
MediumLeather and beads
DimensionsOverall: 7 1/4 × 2 × 1 in. (18.4 × 5.1 × 2.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Oberlin College Department of Zoology
Object number1957.122
Status
Not on viewColorful beadwork designs were common in the work of female Plains artists, and many groups used distinct stitches and color combinations. Cheyenne artists particularly favored triangular designs created with dark blue, yellow, or red on a white background. Beadwork was incorporated into many objects of daily life. Pouches and cradles were some of the most finely beaded objects created by Plains Indian women. The pouch here would have hung from a woman’s belt as a container for face paint, the beadwork a testament to the importance of art in daily life. Miniature beaded cradles were made as toys for young girls to learn and mimic childcare. They were often made by a female relative and were as intricately beaded as full-size cradles.
Exhibition History
American Indian Art of the Plains and Southwest
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (April 11, 1978 - April 30, 1978 )
Art and Life in Early America
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 2, 2014 - June 28, 2015 )
Collections
- Americas
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19th century
late 19th–early 20th century
1905
late 19th–early 20th century
ca. 1890
ca. 1936
20th century
possibly 19th century
2006