Placket (late 1800s): Art, History and Details

Placket (late 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Placket
• Date: late 1800s
• Culture: Northeast Woodlands, Great Lakes Region, Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) or Nehiyawak (Cree) People?
• Type: Garment
• Technique: Velvet, cotton
• Dimensions: Overall: 44.5 x 19.4 cm (17 1/2 x 7 5/8 in.)
• Collection: T - Native North American
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1956.788.1

Collection credit

Anonymous gift in memory of Sarah Ann Morrison

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.