Leggings Item Number: D2.19 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

The leggings (part a-b) have narrow brown straps attached to a rectangular blue wool with a red seam binding on two edges and a diamond pattern in beadwork. The panel of beadwork begins underneath the brown strap in one corner and extends diagonally down the legging, finishing short of the opposite corner. Beads are sewn to form the alternating pattern of three elongated diamonds in a row with five tiny diamonds. All diamonds are blue outlined in red and the background is white. The backside of the blue leggings is without decoration. The brown wool straps have a central stripe pattern that includes two red stripes.

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
Leggings
Identification Number
D2.19 a-b
Type of Item
legging
Material
wool fibre, glass and fibre
Manufacturing Technique
sewn and embroidered
Part A
height 109.0 cm, width 30.5 cm
Part B
height 112.0 cm, width 31.0 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
fair
Accession Number
2081/0033 a-b