This beautiful long wall pocket was made by Paul St John, Mohawk craftsman.  With 2 pockets, it is long and meant to hold letters, combs, brushes etc.  This form was a decorative style that was made by his Iroquois ancestors for sale to the "tourist" trade.   The bead decoration is also of designs from at earlier era, 1880-1875.  It is nonfloral and makes use of spiraled double curves, 3 bead outer border design and trifoliate loops  These are design motifs used by all of the Northeast Woodland tribes - Including tribes in the Iroquois and the Wabanaki Confederacies.  

The bag is of vintage red trade wool.  Bag is bound with lime green grosgrain silk ribbon and the hanging loop at top back is of the same silk grosgrain ribbon. The beaded design on the bag is done in glass seed beads of light green, dark green, medium blue and white.  

The wall pocket is 13.75" long and is 5.25" across. The top hanging loop is 1.75" long and the ribbon is 1" wide The inner pockets are lined in green on green calico material of a vintage design.   The pockets are 5.75" long  and they are scalloped at top.  Pocket openings are 1" from top of wall pocket and  lower pocket opening is 1" below the bottom of the top pocket This could hang on your wall - as is or in a display frame - or in your display case.      Or use it as a beautiful display piece.  

The beadwork designs are intricate and delicate.  The bead color combination is vibrant against the red wool trade cloth - and the colors are somewhat unusual for vintage pieces, but ...  if you look at thousands of pieces of early woodland beadwork - you will find several have similar colors and those are always the ones that stand out - unusual and memorable - as is this piece by Paul St John.  

The non-floral design here is similar to those used on bags, regalia and whimsies made in the first quarter of the 19th century.  A book that has several photographs of these earlier non-floral design Northeast bags is called "Made of Thunder, Made of Glass; American Indian Beadwork of the Northeast" by Gerry Biron & JoAnne Russo.  It is a valuable resource for the photos alone - the history etc included is an added bonus.  

Paul St. John now lives in Maine, near his mother's Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Micmac relatives.  He is an enrolled Mohawk and grew up on the Mohawk lands in New York, his father's tribe.   2nd from last photo in slideshow is of Paul St John and 2 of his other works.  Last photo is of his Mohawk grandmother, Amelia St John who taught him beading.

Paul St John also makes birchbark, porcupine quill and coiled sweetgrass baskets, beaded knife cases, traditional dolls, water drums, birch bark rattles, beaded barrettes and moccasins among numerous other traditional crafts - check out more of his work in this ebay store.

Paul St. John now lives in Maine, near his mother's Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Micmac relatives.  He is an enrolled Mohawk and grew up on the Mohawk lands in New York, his father's tribe.   2nd from last photo in slideshow is of Paul St John and 2 of his other works.  Last photo is of his Mohawk grandmother, Amelia St John who taught him beading.