Claymore Beaded Bag, ca. 1895
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GUEST:
This piece was given to me by my dad.
APPRAISER:
And so that was what, about 15 years ago?
GUEST:
Yeah. I was told that Great-Grandma was the one that did the beadwork.
APPRAISER:
Your father's great-grandmother.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
This bag is really from the golden age of pictorial beadwork in the Dakota area, which is really 1890 to about 1910. It comes from the Standing Rock area. Now, what we see are these fantastic pictorial elements with the eagle and the flag. And this is diagnostic for one of the families that beaded up in there, and there were two real important families--one was Claymore, and the other was Nellie Gates. This was made by the Claymore family. And they're very collectible. I'm going to turn this slowly, so our audience can see what fantastic elements. We have this sort of beaded rainbow element here, which is also typical of this period. And then again on this side, we see more floral, which is just beautifully executed. And we see that it's just fully beaded. Now, we have some condition problems up here on the top. That should be fixed, and it should be cleaned, but only cleaned by a professional. Now, would you be depressed at all if I told you that this bag was worth $40,000 to $60,000 at auction or in a good gallery?
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Would you smile?
GUEST:
(laughing) I guess.
Appraisal Details
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