Tool (for needlework) (Pincushion)

Description

This trilobe-shaped pincushion, comprised of orange chintz and pink cotton fabric, is decorated with a panel of velvet and glass seed beading executed in traditional Iroquois motifs. The words "NIAGARA FALLS" are beaded with white seed beads at the center, and a loop at the top for hanging is threaded with clear seed beads. Beaded bags, purses, and pincushions such as this one were highly popular objects made for the souvenir market in New York state during the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. The type of beadwork used around the borders of this cushion, known as "raised beadwork," is unique to the Haudenosaunee of New York state and Ontario. While sewing, the beadworker overloads the threads with beads, pushing (or raising) a number of beads above the surface level of the object. This pincushion was most likely made by a Tuscarora sewer in New York state or the nearby parts of Canada.