Sioux Tobacco Bag | Brzezinski Portfolio

Treatment of Sioux Tobacco Bag

Object: Tobacco Bag

Acc.#: 1968.208

Date: Unknown

Dimensions: 32 in x 7 in

Materials: Leather (brain tanned, est), beadwork, dyed porcupine quills

Collection: Denver Art Museum

Culture of Origin: Ochethi Sakowin (Sioux)

Treated in 2021 for permanent display in the Indigenous Arts of North America Gallery, in the newly renovated Martin Building at the Denver Art Museum

View Report

After Treatment

Side A (left) and B (right)

Context

Bags of this style were made to carry a man’s tobacco pipe and tobacco, a central part of the culture of Sioux and other Plains communities. Consequentially, tobacco bag are prestigious objects and were stored on the ground at the back of the tepee to protect the contents inside.

In the 19th century, these bags became popular with white tourists and were made for purchase rather than the community. It is unknown if there was a tobacco pipe associated with this bag or if it was made for the tourist industry.

The designs indicate prestige in multiple ways, including the horses and long eagle feather headdresses. The U-shaped designs indicate that the figure depicted has stolen a horse, a high honor.

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Condition

Leather strips detached from main bag. Leather degraded with very little stable break edge
Losses to the porcupine quill work, especially near leather breaks
Minor areas of unstable bead work
Ferrous corrosion on metal beads
Surface dirt and dust on beadwork
Green thread from a previous conservation treatment held the detached leather together. The stitches have caused additional loss to the quillwork.

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Treatment Overview

Removal sewing from previous treatment (by Gina Laurin)
Surface cleaning of beadwork
Stabilizing quillwork
Stabilizing bead work
Reduction of ferrous corrosion
Reattaching leather strips with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, made into a 'putty'
Collaboration with curators and textiles conservation to plan a mount and handling protocols