Description

This object is part of a collection that was assembled by an uncle of Mrs. G. A. Lefler who sold it to the museum in 1955 and 1956. She asked that the collector remain anonymous. He assembled the material between 1906 and 1925. Mrs. Lefler is the source of the primary documentation on the collection, which is as follows:

　"[The collection] originated largely from the area around Great Slave Lake, principally in the region or Fort Resolution, Norway House, Fort Liard, & Fort Nelson. It is difficult to name the actual makers, since the pieces were collected through the cooperation of the factors of various Hudson Bay trading posts, in their judgment as representative of the finest type of this work produced in their respective areas. From these collections, a further choice was made of pieces considered most valuable. Some of these [quillwork] bands are reputed to be over 100 years old.

　The last time this collection was on public display was in Winnipeg in 1931, at which time it was described as the finest privately-owned collection in Canada."