Shirt Item Number: D2.18 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Red wool shirt with geometric beading down both arms and in bands running halfway down the front and back of the shirt on either side of the neck; beading is dark blue, green and yellow on light blue ground. Neckline is trimmed with black velvet-like material. Strips of black fabric run between the bands of beading around the neck, creating horizontal stripes; brass beads are sewn at evenly spaced intervals along the strips of fabric. A long fringe of hide strips runs along both sleeves. Sides of shirt and bottom of sleeves are open, held together with loosely spaced hide thongs.

Narrative

The donor said the objects in his donation should be known as the Hillyard Mitchell collection. Mitchell (1852-1923) spent much of his working life in the Northwest Territories, later moving to Victoria, B.C. The donor also said the collection came from his grandfather, F. Carson, who had gone to Saskatchewan in 1861 as a boy of 15, and stayed until 1918. He was a fur trader and trapper, working mainly amongst the Cree, and was recorded having been at Duck Lake and Prince Albert, Sask. It is now uncertain which objects were collected by Mitchell vs collected by F. Carson.

Item History

What

Name
Shirt
Identification Number
D2.18
Type of Item
shirt
Material
wool fibre, cotton fibre ?, brass metal, glass and skin
Manufacturing Technique
sewn and embroidered
Overall
height 78.0 cm, width 152.0 cm

Who

Culture
Plains
Previous Owner
F. Carson, Hillyard Mitchell and F. S. Carson
Received from
F. S. Carson (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
North America

When

Collection Date
between 1861 and 1918
Ownership Date
before 1923 and before October 28, 1957
Acquisition Date
on October 28, 1957

Other

Item Classes
textiles; beadwork
Condition
poor
Accession Number
2081/0032