A Cree Quilled Hide Coat

composed of finely tanned hide, porcupine quills, cotton thread and sinew. 

Private English collection inherited through descent from a relative who visited western Canada in the early 1840's

Very good overall condition with typical wear for its age, some wear to the quillwork, particularly on the collar.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The style of the present coat is modeled on the narrow-waisted, broad-shouldered European coat from the second quarter of the 19th century. However, the hide used, the sinew sewing and the elaborate loom-woven quillwork decoration is in the best native tradition of the period. Through fur-trade, such coats were introduced and appreciated by the native population of southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan early in the 19th century. They became fashionable and were worn by both Cree, Ojibwa and Metis men, many of whom were involved in the fur-trade.

The coat is made of native tanned, lightly smoked skin and is elaborately decorated with loom-woven quillwork panels attached to the shoulders, the back and the cuffs. The lapels are decorated with delicate floral motif applique quillwork. The bottom flares out and the seams on the sleeves are covered with quillwork. The bottom is further embellished with quill-wrapped fringes.

 

For further discussion of Native American clothing, and Cree coats specifically, see Artificial Curiosities from the Northwest Coast, Native American Artefacts in the British Museum Collected on the Third Voyage of Captain James Cook and Acquired Through Sir Joseph Banks, London, 1981, p. 36: "At the time of European contact, clothing often consisted of virtually untailored skins, worn with or without fur, depending on the season. The availability of new iron tools such as scissors and needles permitted the skin clothing to be cut, fitted, and sewn more easily. In the East and around the Great Lakes deer skin was most commonly used, whereas to the North, caribou and moose skin were primary materials. . . In the historic period this outer garment was a robe, although the Cree and Naskapi wore coats . . . Aboriginal skin clothing was often highly decorated, using a number of different techniques. The most common was painting, the paint was either applied as a powder, or as a liquid impressed with a bone stamp. Appliqué decoration included porcupine and bird quillwork, and beadwork . . . Porcupine quillwork was usually either woven separately on a bow-loom or applied as a strip, or else it was attached to a network of sinew thread sewn into the skin."

 

For other related examples also see Ted J. Brasser, Bo' jou, Neejee: Profiles of Canadian Indian Art, Ottawa, 1976, pl. 158, identified as a Metis-Sioux coat; Masterpieces of Indian and Eskimo Art from Canada, Museum of Man, Paris, 1969, no. 139; and Carolyn Gilman, Where Two Worlds Meet: The Great Lakes Fur Trade, Minnesota Historical Society, 1982, p. 107. Finally, see Sotheby's New York, May 2007, lot 123 for a Cree costume from the John W. Painter collection.