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Victorian Native American Iroquois Whimsey Wall Pocket Pincushion Boot Late 19thC.
Measure about 7”H (without the handle and bead on the bottom) or total height is about 13”.
PROVENANCE: This piece came from the estate of MARIAN BURROS - American cookbook author and a food columnist for The New York Times, from 1981 to 2014. Before joining The Times, Burros was The Washington Post's food editor and a consumer reporter for WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington, a position for which she won an Emmy Award. This piece came from her estate in Bethesda, Va. The estate sale took place on April 9-12 2026. Maria had a large collection of the Indian beaded work.
Good overall condition considering the age and the type of the artifact.
Some wear, staining, discoloration and minor spots with loss on the pink silk material, dust on the beads, the beads seem to be in place with little loss, if any. Wear in the edges and the interior, wear and discoloration on the material (reverse side)
Often called "whimsies," these beaded items were produced by Native Indian women to sell as tourist souvenirs. They served as wall pockets for sewing tools and pincushions, popular in Victorian-era homes.
Iroquois beadwork from the late 19th and early 20th centuries was created as art objects for non-Native consumers, serving as status symbols and conversation pieces in Victorian parlors. Produced by Iroquois women for the tourist trade, these items—including pincushions and bags—were frequently displayed to showcase travel experiences and encounters with Native artists
