SOLD
HISTORIC PLAINS CREE OR PLAINS OJIBWAY TEA COZY
Estimated  AGE:   late 19thc, circa 1870 - 1880
GEOGRAPHIC area:  Provisional  Districts of Assiniboia and Athabasca [east section] later incorporated into the Province of Saskatchewan in 1905
DESCRIPTION:  A fully beaded functional tea cozy made for sale or trade by a native woman likely at a Hudson's Bay trading post, or living in the environs of a post.
 
This extraordinary example of indigenous craft work is comprised of thousands of tiny seed beads spot stitch sewn on a cloth base, entirely covering the front and verso with multi coloured floral floral motifs against a white background.  Rope work cord around joins of panels.  Fully lined and padded original cotton material.
 
This artistic creation was crafted  after the fur trade economy had largely  ended . It is representative of a late transitory period  when native  economies  in west central Canada were shifting to purposeful production  of items tailored to the Euro  Canadian economy.
 
Notwithstanding the fact that this object was created specifically for trade to the Euro Canadian market , and is  comprised entirely of trade acquired materials, the floral motifs and the double lobbed structural design  along the top reflect or echo native animism concepts.  The double lobbed motifs  could recall  animal images in an abstract sense. This interpretation is not contradicted by the fact that the double lobbed extensions served no purpose in accommodating tea pots, and seem to be decorative.
 
 DIMENSIONS :   12 inches by 16 inches, measured at base and lobe height