Early Heart Shaped (c. Mid 19th Century) Beaded Iroquois Pin Cushion rusted tin turn it over and wear

turn it over and wear it as a crown

The casket itself is shrouded in fabric

for the Archives of American Art’s Nanette L

and it makes a pretty satisfying clack as the sliding piece hits the top or bottom top

There is no date on the newspaper adhered to the bottom

Early Heart Shaped (c. Mid 19th Century) Beaded Iroquois Pin Cushion rusted tin turn it over and wearI don't think photos with no sense of scale do justice to this one those beads are tiny, and the pin cushion relatively small, so it feels very fine in hand. And it is definitely an early one, c. 1850s I believe. There is a great blog devoted to early Iroquois (including Seneca) and Wabanaki pin cushions, including many heart shaped examples along the lines of this one, which I believe is Iroquois. Wear to the sides as evident it does appear it was