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Crow Quilled & Beaded Signal Mirror 19th Century

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:1,750.00 - 3,500.00 USD
Crow Quilled & Beaded Signal Mirror 19th Century
This is an excellent floral beaded Buffalo hide storage pouch and rare porcupine quilled signal mirror from the Crow Native American Indians of Colorado and dating to the 19th Century. The piece is out of a large American Indian collection in Colorado Springs, Colorado. American Indian signal mirrors are very scarce, as they were not large vanity mirror boards with brass tacked borders’ signal mirrors were small mirrors decorated with beadwork or quillwork and fit into a small hide belt pouch for storage. These would have been used on the trail for a high vantage point to glare in the day-time sun in alerting or “signaling” fellow tribesman from a distance. The mirror shows a medallion yellow and purple porcupine quill worked design which is trimmed in old red pony 19th Century glass trade beads at the border and mirror opening along with a buckskin finger strap on the back. The belt pouch is constructed of Indian tanned Buffalo hide showing all 19th Century period correct glass beadwork in a typical Crow floral pattern showing chalk white, Cheyenne pink, cobalt, sky padre light blue, butterscotch yellow, semi-transparent rose and semi-transparent blue. Beadwork is shown on both sides. The bag shows the long hand cut Indian tanned hide fringe hanging across the sides and bottom along with the original tie’s traps still intact at the top. The circular mirror measures 2 ¾ inch across and the pouch is 15 inches long including the fringe.