The octopus bag was chosen for conservation by the Friends organization (after a vote of Museum fans and friends) last year. It is one of the treasures of the Museum’s Dyer Collection of Native American artifacts. The octopus bag is significant because of its rarity and age – only a few early bags like this remain in existence – and it is the only octopus bag in the Dyer Collection.

How the octopus bag was conserved
Leila Harritt used an intricate process to repair the elaborate beadwork and threading on the bag. She also provided much-needed stability to the bag with special materials used in preservation work. Using special tools and techniques, Ms. Harritt successfully stabilized the bag’s construction and repaired and replaced vibrant-colored beadwork on the face and strap of the bag.

The brown wool outer foundation and tan cotton inner lining were in stable condition, so the bulk of the work was in repairing the bag’s detailed beading. There were loose and missing beads along the top edge and along the edges of the strap/handle as well as all along the sides of the bag. The red silk was frayed and missing in many areas around the perimeter of the bag and also in the central design that runs down the center of the handle/strap. There was surface dust as well as caked surface dirt on the beads, so the bag was very carefully and thoroughly cleaned.

Kansas City Museum Curatorial Specialist Lisa Shockley managed the conservation project and Community Relations Specialist Andrew Mouzin documented the process with photographs. View the photo gallery >>

What’s next for the octopus bag
The conserved octopus bag will be archived in the Museum’s collection until it is ultimately returned to display in Corinthian Hall, the century-old mansion-turned-museum that is undergoing extensive renovation.

However, the Friends will present a special opportunity to view the conserved octopus bag at a donor reception immediately following the Community Curator lecture at 6 pm March 23, 2010, in the Stilwell Room of Union Station’s lower level, The lecture will be presented by Pat Gold, a Smithsonian visiting scholar, who will discuss Native American woven baskets of the Pacific Northwest.

This Community Curator lecture is sponsored by the Kansas City Southern Charitable Fund, Haverty Family Foundation (Mike Haverty) and the Smithsonian Associates. This will be an exciting and informative evening for supporters of Kansas City Museum who are interested in Native American artifacts.

More about this rare octopus bag
Octopus bags were named for the wide cloth fringe resembling the tentacles of an octopus, usually comprising eight points. This type of bag was worn for special occasions by the men of the tribe around the neck and shoulders. Octopus bags were used throughout tribes in what is now the upper United States. This bag is significant for its rarity and age—few early bags remain—but it is the only octopus bag in the Dyer Collection. Learn more about the Octopus Bag.

 

About the Dyer Collection
The Daniel B. and Ida C. Dyer Collection of Native American Artifacts has been one of the cornerstones of the Kansas City Museum collection for decades. Originally gifted to the Kansas City School Board and Kansas City Public Library, the collection has earned international acclaim. Five pieces from the collection are on loan to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

Between 1870-1885, Ida Casey Dyer, wife of U.S. Indian agent Daniel B. Dyer, amassed hundreds of old, new and commissioned American Indian artworks, or curios, as they were called then. Ida, a school teacher and the daughter of a doctor, began collecting when 'Colonel' Dyer was stationed at Darlington Indian Agency, a post established in 1875 near Fort Reno on the former Cheyenne Arapaho reservation, now central Oklahoma.

The collection became the subject of a bitter custody battle when the Dyers divorced in 1897 (for the second time). Ultimately, Ida was awarded the collection and made sure it ended up in Kansas City. Read more >>

The Dyer Collection was the subject of a recent Community Curator event presented by Kansas City Museum at Union Station. The collection was examined by Elisabeth J. Kirsch, a contemporary art curator and historian.