172: A FINE FULLY BEADED & QUILLED HIDE TOBACCO BAG 1880-90

The bag of Native tanned leather is decorated in a striking abstracted design of sinew-sewn lane stitched multicolored glass beads against a white ground, the lower portion is decorated with dyed porcupine quillwork in multiple colors and abstract forms. An attached tag purports that this bag is from the collection of General Nelson Miles,

A Civil War hero and key commander in late-19th-century campaigns against Plains and Southwest nations named General Nelson A. Miles is associated with materials preserved in the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and related archives.
Measures 28 x 8 inches, including the fringe, but not including the strap.
Top hanging thongs may have been added later but have been with this bag for a long time, the fringe slightly stiff but supple not brittle, 10%or less loss of dyed quill, only very minor bits of bead loss under close inspection one side, very good condition.
Provenance: The estate of a Wyoming collector.
$1,000 - $1,500