Otter Bag by Ward Oles

Mid-Late 18th century whole hide tobacco bag with netted quillwork. Some of the earliest collected examples of Eastern Native quilled material culture exhibit this netting technique. This bag is inspired by a number of similar otter tobacco and pipe bags with the fully netted legs and tail covering, as well as "loose" tail panels. The main inspiration for this piece is a similar bag housed in the University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum. The bag is a "whole skin" brain-tanned otter hide, properly skinned through the neck per period examples, as opposed to the modern technique of "cased" skinning. This bag measures 57 inches in length overall. Over 2000 individually wrapped quills, 95 brass cones, 380 imitation wampum beads, and exact reproductions of original 18th century sleeve buttons and thimbles were required to complete this project.

Copy and photos supplied by Ward Oles.