Placket and Cuffs

late 1800s

Placket and Cuffs, late 1800s. Northeast Woodlands, Great Lakes Region, Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) or Nehiyawak (Cree) People?. Velvet, cotton; overall: 19.2 cm (7 9/16 in.); average: 12.5 x 30 cm (4 15/16 x 11 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Anonymous gift in memory of Sarah Ann Morrison 1956.788 In the 1800s, native peoples began to use European fabrics to fashion fine formal garments; they favored sturdy cloth, such as velvet and wool broadcloth, which provided support for heavy decorative beadwork that was added by hand. Often the fabric was a dark color, providing dramatic contrast for the multicolored beads. Rather than encrusting the entire garment, beadwork was confined to cuffs, “epaulettes,” bib-like plackets and yokes, rectangular panels sewn to leggings, shirts, and dresses, and the like.