Courtesy City of Montreal, Records Management and Archives

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Wendat Woman and Man

This rare surviving watercolor of a Wendat (Huron) woman and man illustrates how Native Americans adapted European textiles to their own customs and fashions. This couple wears clothing of both traditional and European materials. The man wears blue wool leggings with a ribboned edge, a European hat decorated with feathers, and silver arm and wrist bands over a linen shirt. He also wears a silver "moon" gorget. They both wear silver ear wheels and nose rings. The woman's leggings are probably leather, and she wears finger-woven legging garters. The couple is apparently going to market since the woman carries an armful of finger-woven straps, sashes, or garters. The artist of this 18th-century watercolor is unknown.

Date: 18th century 
Topic: Portraits 
Materials: Paper, watercolor
Dimensions: currently unavailable 
Accession #:


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