Description: A traditional style Iroquois beaded picture frame with a large Fantail pigeon featured. This new beaded pillow by Mohawk craftsman, Paul St John has been made in the traditional shape with a traditional beaded bird design using vintage black velvet and antique glass clear silver heart beads (very sparkly!) with transparent red and green glass beads, and larger transparent blue, gold, green and red color beads. The fancy bird, a fantail pigeon is a design that Paul's grandmother (and other Iroquois beadworkers) used and I have seen on a very few other Iroquois beadwork items that dated from about 1880-1930's. See a photo of a fantail pigeon - last one in slideshow above. Paul has crafted this charming stuffed pillow (could be used as a pincushion) using the materials and techniques his ancestors did to make similar pillows as long as 150 years ago. Iroquois beadwork pin cushions and beadwork pillows were among the collectable Iroquois beaded "whimsies" that were sold to tourists at Niagara Falls (and other locations) for decades. Paul has reproduced this pillow from designs used by his grandmother, Amelia St John who taught him beadworking. Mohawks are one of the 6 tribes that currently make up the Iroquois Confederacy. The other 5 tribes are Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Tuscarora. Some beadwork designs are/were used by all 6 tribes. Others were favored by one or more of the tribes. Much Iroquois beadwork made during the late 1800's- early 1900's used the same clear beads with silver, red or other colored interiors/hearts. "heart" beads - - as "silver heart" or "red heart". Paul recently received several boxes of beads from his great-aunt some she had gotten from her sister, Paul's grandmother and some from her mother, Paul's great-grandmother. Beads used on this pillow came from Paul's boxes of "family beads". This pillow is 6" square - quite stuffed at 3" high. There are bead dangles on the corners and center top and bottom of the pillow. These are of 3 loops each, clear silver heart beads with 2 larger silver metal beads at bottom center of each loop. Loops are 2.5" long Paul St. John now lives in Maine, near his mother's Passamaquoddy/Maliseet/Micmac relatives. He is an enrolled Mohawk and grew up on the Mohawk lands in New York, his father's tribe. 3rd from last photo in slideshow is of Paul St John and 2 of his other works. 2nd from last photo is of his Mohawk grandmother, Amelia St John who taught him beading. Paul St John also makes birchbark, porcupine and coiled sweetgrass baskets, beaded knife cases, barrettes and moccasins among numerous other traditional crafts - check out more of his work in this ebay store.
Price: 192.75 USD
Location: Sedgwick, Maine
End Time: 2024-04-08T17:36:04.000Z
Shipping Cost: 6.5 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Original or Reproduction: original
Region or Culture: Northeast
Country of Manufacture: United States
Material: vintage velvet & vintage glass beads
Artisan: Paul St John
Tribal Affiliation: Iroquois
Handmade: Yes
Modified Item: No
Native American Age: CURRENT - NEW!
