This cloth hood, skillfully decorated with floral glass beadwork, is an exquisite example of the artistic talents of Cree women living at or near the Moose Factory settlement, a fur-trading post and fort built at the site of a Cree village near the mouth of the Moose River at the southern end of James Bay. A variety of floral elements—including four-petal flowers, tulip-like flowers, and tiny rosebud-like motifs—as well as heart-shaped, veined leaves, characterize this style of beadwork, which is also found on exquisitely beaded James Bay Cree panel bags. James Bay Cree women wore hoods of this style in the 18th and early 19th century.

Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian
Ongoing

The National Museum of the American Indian  |  George Gustav Heye Center  |  New York, NY

Press | Credits