Awl Case
Unknown Artist
c. 1890
Medium
Native-tanned hide, glass beads, cotton thread
Dimensions
h. 33.7 cm
Classification
Leather
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Katherine Allen Perry
Accession Number
1934.241
About this artwork
Plains women hung small bags often decorated with beads from their belts to keep their most important tools at hand. This one contained an awl, a shaft of bone, stone, or metal that tapered to a point and had many functions. One of the most important was to sew animal hides into garments: the awl was used to punch small holes in the hide, and then a thread made of animal sinew was laced through the holes and pulled tight.