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Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg)
Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg)
Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg)

Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg)

Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view2.jpg)

Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view2.jpg)

Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view3.jpg)

Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view3.jpg)

Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 50.67.3a_50.67.9a-b_view2_acetate_bw.jpg)

Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 50.67.3a_50.67.9a-b_view2_acetate_bw.jpg)

Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 50.67.3a_50.67.9a-b_view1_acetate_bw.jpg)

Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 50.67.3a_50.67.9a-b_view1_acetate_bw.jpg)

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Pair of Leggings

Arts of the Americas

CULTURES Red River Metis or Yanktonai, Nakota, Sioux
MEDIUM Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread
  • Place Collected: Fort Snelling, Minnesota, United States
    • DATES early 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 35 in. (88.9 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
    ACCESSION NUMBER 50.67.9a-b
    CREDIT LINE Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund
    PROVENANCE Prior to 1848, provenance not yet documented; by 1848, acquired by Nathan Sturges Jarvis; 1848, gift of Nathan Sturges Jarvis to the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned by the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; 1950, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.
    Provenance FAQ
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Leggings constructed with a long "tab" at each hip, near the top and above each outer seam. Below these tabs the outer seams on the rest of both leggings are decorated with one vertical strip of porcupine quillwork on each, outlined with beads in red, white-centered red, and black. The small seed bead and the cornalined'allepo (the white-centered) beads are not usually found on garments this early. Long fringes ornament the outer seams and the base of each strand is wrapped with red porcupine quills. The top and bottom edges of the leggings have short fringes. Shorter tabs are sewn on the bottom. This is generally referred to as bottom tabbed leggings, a style that permitted the tabs to stream along after the wearer when walking, a fashion that existed for only a brief time.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Red River Metis. Pair of Leggings, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg)
    IMAGE front, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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    Red River Metis. <em>Pair of Leggings</em>, early 19th century. Buckskin, porcupine quills, seed beads, thread, 35 in. (88.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.9a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.50.67.9a-b_view1.jpg)

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