When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
RareAntique Mohawk Indian Fine Beaded "Toque" Hat, New York orQuebec, Circa 1840-70's
Thismuseum-quality Mohawk beaded Toque (also spelled Tuque) is an earlytrade item produced by Mohawk artisans for their French-Canadianneighbors in Northern New York State, Southeastern Quebec and EasternOntario. The types of beads, including tiny seed beads, indicate anearly date as does the early English black and red woolen Trade clothon which the beads are sewn.
Themore well-known type of Mohawk-made beaded hats are of the"Glengarry" type made for the Scots-Irish immigrants toEastern Ontario and the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The Glengarryhat has a lower profile with a beaded top sewn evenly with the sidepanels and possibly having ribbons flowing from the tail end. TheToque, on the other hand, is a traditionally knit hat with a tallpointed top, sometimes with a pom-pom.
ThisMohawk-made Toque is exceedingly rare and this is the only one I haveseen. The beaded band of this toque is sewn to the cap of 2 cloth 2layers. The visible outer fabric is a fine dense English "Egyptian"cotton and the inner appears to be a hand-woven somewhat coarseunbleached linen. The outer cotton was originally dyed a light forestgreen color which is now mostly faded to a yellow ochre hue. Thebeadwork on this piece is particularly fine with very appealingzigzag borders in pink beads bordered on the top and bottom with thetiniest clear seed beads. A couple of the zigzags are disconnected ata couple of the peaks with no missing beads. There is a 1½-inch-longarea where the lower seed bead border is missing. The trade clothfoundation is worn at the lower edge (see Condition & Photos)
TheMohawk or Kanien'kehaka ("People of the Flint") is theEasternmost tribe of the Iroquis or Haudenosaune Confederacy. TheMohawk originally were inhabitants of what is now Central New YorkState, west of the Hudson River, and centered around the Mohawk RiverValley although their power extended to New Jersey and Pennsylvaniain the south, to the Green Mountains of Vermont in the east, and toSouthern Quebec and Eastern Ontario in the north. Because the Mohawkbroke with other Iroquois Tribes and aligned themselves with theEnglish Crown during the American Revolutionary War, they werelargely forced to immigrate to Canada mostly into the St. LawrenceRiver Valley in Southwestern Quebec and Eastern Ontario. JosephBrant, the famous Mohawk chief who led the Mohawks against theAmericans during the Revolution, and his followers were granted landwhich is now called the Six Nations Reserve In Ontario near theNiagara Peninsula and the city of Brantford, Ontario. Although mostMohawk indigenous peoples live in communities in Quebec and Ontario,the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe moved back to New York State along theSt. Lawrence River where it is federally recognized as a sovereignnation.
Dimensions: ±7½" tall, 10-7/8" long: Beaded band: 2-3/8"wide
Condition: Very Good. The beadwork band is mostly intact but some of thezigzags in the upper border are disconnected with no missing beads.The edging of the lower border has one 1½" section where tinyclear beads are missing. The cloth inner and outer caps are intactwith fading of the outer cotton cloth from a soft forest green to ayellow ochre color. The red trade cloth along the lower border of thebeadwork band has expected wear along the lower edge (see photos)
