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Crow Beaded Strike-A-Lite Bag c. 1870-1880

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Crow Beaded Strike-A-Lite Bag c. 1870-1880
This is a fine fully front beaded strike-a-lite pouch with original iron striker and flint from the Crow Native American Indians of Colorado dating to circa 1870-1880. This 19th Century piece of beadwork is from the Ex-Ted and Lilly Jarvis Collection. The piece shows an Indian brain tanned Buffalo hide construction with excellent traditional geometric beadwork in a typical Crow hourglass pattern. The bag shows all period correct 19th Century glass trade seed beads of Cheyenne pink, chalk white, medium green, semi-transparent sky padre light blue, red and cobalt. The bottom of the pouch shows two six-inch-long beaded drops, one at each corner, which are adorned with two pure nickel silver disks attached at the bottom. The piece shows a belt strap / tie straps at the back/top. Overall the bag shows a nice minor wear with little to no bead loss and signs of age and use. Crow strike-a-lite bags are exceedingly scarce on the artifact collecting market with this being a truly beautiful striking example. Also included are two original period correct pieces, the fling arrowhead as well as the blacksmith forged iron striker which is tarnished with age. Provenance: From the large Ex-Collection of Ted and Lilly Jarvis, the same collection that offered the Spontoon War Tomahawk in the Sotheby’s Arts of the American West May 22, 2013 New York sale which sold for $22,500. The strike-a-lite bag measures overall 11”L by 3.5”W.