UNIDENTIFIED WOLASTOQIYIK (MALISEET) ARTIST
Beaded Ceremonial Shirt Collar, c. 1860
black velveteen, glass beads, metal beads, silk, and cotton thread, 13.5 x 9.5 x 0.25 in (34.3 x 24.1 x 0.6 cm)
unsigned;
elaborately decorated with beaded appliqué of vining florals.

Provenance
Private Collection, UK;
A Montreal Collection

This complex and densely beaded collar exemplifies the Wolastoqiyik (Wəlastəkwewiyik) tradition of leaving little blank space between its floral designs. Well mirrored with only a few points of asymmetry, this work comes from a time where Wolastoqiyik beaders were moving away from using only white beads to create linework, to a style that embraced multiple hues and textures. This can be seen in the many opaque, colour-lined, and metallic beads throughout. The white beads are still very much present in the borders and vines, and shine like tiny beacons against the black velvet and the multicoloured beads around them. Despite the density of this design, the beaded patterns of the individual flowers and leaves give the illusion of depth and make them pop from their flat background.

References: For an overview of Indigenous floral beading, see Lois S. Dubin, Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork, (Los Angeles: Autry National Center of The American West, 2014). For further examples of Maliseet decorative work, see Gaby Peppetier, ed., Traditions Décoratives Micmac & Maliseet Decorative Traditions, (Saint John: The New Brunswick Museum, 1977).