Lot 253

c. 1900-1950 Blackfeet Beaded Trade Wool Pipe Bag

Estimate: $600 - $1,200

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
The lot features a nice beaded trade wool pipe bag tobacco pouch from the Blackfeet Indians of Montana dating to circa 1900-1950's. The bag is constructed from wool trade blanket remnants from early 1900 showing the dye edge to natural wool at the top covered with geometric beadwork done in period correct glass trade seed cen petit beads. The colors of the beads include sky padre light blue, Cheyenne pink, greasy yellow, pink white heart, chalk white, medium green, medium blue, blue, and faceted metal. The top shows a beaded edge and the bottom has hide fringes wrapped in trade wool and further beaded all around. The bag is well preserved with a small section of beads missing on the front bottom outside edge and the back of the bag shows a small worn section of wool. The beadwork is sinew sewn and the bag s thread sewn showing a trade clothe inside lining. Provenance: From a private museum collection in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France. Other examples of pipe bags constructed of trade wool include the following: The example from David Cook Galleries, which sold for approximately $9,700 from the Plateau 19th Century and featured a red trade cloth top and beaded bottom. Another example offered by Skinner’s Auction in January 2009 is from the third-quarter 19th Century and the “Yancton” (Yankton); it features a red cloth top and hide beaded bottom and had an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. Yet another example, the Ute beaded and quilled bag (circa 1870), features blue trade cloth top and hide bottom with significant damage; it was offered by our company in January 2021 and had an estimate of $2,500-$5,000. Measures overall 19.25"L by 5.5"W.
North American Auction Company is proud to announce the opening of our new in-house, full-service shipping department. We have listened to you the customer and will now be handling all outgoing packages in our new shipping department. We are confident this new offering will allow for a smooth transition from auction block to your front step. We have partnered with preferred carriers to ensure a safe, efficient delivery that works best with your schedule. Please allow 14-21 days after complete invoice payment is made to package and ship your purchase. After you are notified of your winning bids from our company and your item invoice is paid in full our new shipping department will contact you. Make sure when signing up with our company that your preferred shipping information is up to date as this information will be used to estimate shipping cost. Once the items have been packaged our team will contact you for shipping payment. Shipping invoices and payment will be completely separately than the items invoice. Please notify the shipping department with any alternate request or instructions at mark@northamericanauctioncompany.com or 800-686-4216 ext. 3. For a shipping quote please contact the same information above. PLEASE NOTE a shipping quote price can fluctuate in price. Auction company is not responsible for actual shipping cost being higher than quoted shipping cost. Thank you for trusting North American Auction Co. with your bids and shipping. As our shipping department is brand new please understand that delays can be expected.