Ioway Sash c. 1880

Given as from Nebraska, 79 inches in length with fringe and 6 and 1/4 inches in width. Made of wool yarn.

DIA 81.425, Museum Purchase with funds from the state of Michigan, the city of Detroit and the Founders Society.

Photo from "Art of the American Indian Frontier" by David W. Penney. Copyright © The Detroit Institute of Arts. References given with the photo are Skinner 1926:338, pl. XLVIII; Plains Art Museum 1990, no. H149.

From the above book: "Women continued to make finger-woven (oblique interlace) sashes throughout the later nineteenth centure; and indeed, they are still made today. Bulky, three- and four-ply commercial yarns available after the 1860s offered a great variety of color choices in keeping with the "hot," vibrant colors visible in Prairie style bead embroidery. Women resident i the Prairie reservatins sought clashing, dramatic color contrasts when producing finger-woven sashes, drawing on the older traditions of design organization and technizque. The women of the indigenous Prairie peoples, such as the Iowa, Osage, and Oto, adapted this typical eastern dress accessory into their own crafts inventory. The rare Iowa sash (above image), for example, would have been worn by a man, twisted around the head, over the shoulder, or around the waist (Skinner 1926:262).