Four Views of a Pincushion

This item was purchased by Katherine C. Vail from an individual in 1979 in Cross Village, Michigan. It has a circa date of 1850, but also an inscription possibly reading “yr 1814,” and some other illegible writing directly on its surface. The item is a pincushion, a tool used in sewing, that closely resembles at least two other known similar items from this area, and likely represents the “ways in which the meanings of things were negotiated in everyday cultural practice” in the relationships between Indigenous peoples and Christian missionaries (Kasprycki, 1996: 49).

Vail had a summer home in Indian River, Michigan and collected works by many Michigan Native quillworkers. This may be one of the first items she collected which she continued through 2016. Her collection now constitutes the largest group of quillwork items in the MSU Museum’s collections.