[NATIVE AMERICAN] Great Lakes Otter Skin Bag w/ Floral Beadwork & Brass Bells

A Great Lakes Otter Skin Bag with Beaded Cloth Panels and Brass Bells. 47 inches long. Note: Some hair loss. 

An elaborately ornamented bag fashioned from an otter skin, retaining the animal’s recognizable head, elongated body, and tapering tail. Rounded brass fittings mark the eyes, while a small hide tie closes an opening along the body. The rich brown fur provides the setting for contrasting panels of floral beadwork applied to dark cloth.

The principal panel follows the narrowing outline of the tail. A blue stem carries alternating leaves and buds worked in pale blue, pink, yellow, green, and white, enclosed by yellow zigzag borders and narrow contrasting bead lines. Smaller rectangular panels repeat the botanical ornament, their compact arrangements relating closely to the extended design below. Brass bells border the tail and the smaller panels, adding weight, movement, and a potential audible accompaniment to the decoration.

Otter-skin bags occupy a significant place in the material traditions of the Great Lakes. 

The decoration follows the animal’s contours with considerable sensitivity. Its longest floral passage accentuates the tail, while the smaller panels leave much of the fur exposed, preserving the distinctive character of the skin. The combination of natural form, delicately outlined vegetation, and closely spaced brass bells gives the bag a substantial and unusually animated presence.