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| The Business of Beading: Iroquois
Beaded Souvenirs
Pocket Watch Holder
This piece transfofmed pocket
watches into wall clocks.
MSUM #1198.26
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong
Why were they made?
With the growth of the middle class during the nineteenth century, travel
was no longer restricted to elites, and the "holiday" was becoming a popular
pastime. Souvenirs were a common way to commemorate a trip, capture the
"exoticness" of a locale, serve as a useful and decorative item in the home,
or function as a gift to a loved one. In addition, their ubiquity and inexpensive
prices made souvenirs accessible across social classes, and tourists purchased
them for friends and relatives as well as for themselves. By this time,
displacement, cultural oppression, decreasing economic options and disease
had brought poverty to many Iroquois peoples. Beadwork provided a way for
the Iroquois to adapt traditional skills to meet tourist demands, and allowed
them a degree of freedom over their livelihood. At different times, the
Canadian and American governments even encouraged the production of crafts
by Indians as a means of providing economic stability. Many Iroquois traveled
to sell their basketry and beadwork. The creation of souvenirs, as well
as the continued creation of beaded items made to be used in the Iroquois
community, provided a way of cultural preservation through the use of traditional
skills. Likewise, the context in which beadwork was created was one of community
and family working together, with the elders instructing the younger generation
in both the technical and cultural aspects of beadwork.
Wall Pocket
This small wall pocket, shaped like a woman's shoe, features gold beads
with sequin accents.
MSUM #9335CW
Photo by Pearl Yee Wong
How were they made?
Most beadwork souvenirs began as a cardboard cutout that reflected the shape
of the finished piece. The cardboard was covered with cloth, often cotton
and velvet, on which designs were embroidered with beads. If you look closely
at a beaded souvenir, you can see paper patterns beneath the beadwork. The
beadworker would fill in the paper pattern by beading raised rows on top
of it, covering the pattern in the process. With pieces in which only one
side was meant to be viewed, the front is typically a dark color of velvet,
such as maroon or purple, while the backing is made of polished cotton in
a different color. Dark colors of cloth were often used as a background
for beading for the contrast they provided. Even many functional items,
such as pincushions, had a beaded loop at the top so they could be displayed
on a wall. Many of the beaded souvenirs were further embellished with decorative
loops of beads along the base of the piece, accentuating the visual appeal
of an item when displayed vertically. Such characteristics reveal the dual
role of decoration and utility that souvenir art played for the Victorian
consumer. Most Iroquois souvenirs are characterized by raised beadwork in
parallel lines, and the use of large clear glass beads for the majority
of the design with highlights of colorful large glass beads. Often, various
colors of cut glass tube beads were used at the bases of looped strands
of beads, or as accents in the overall design. The most frequently used
bead colors, in addition to clear beads, are red, white, yellow or gold,
green, and blue.
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