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Hej Magnus,

I hope you’re doing fine. I’m finally finding the time to properly go through the documentation and collections to make a suggestion for the reconstruction of the Wrangel Collection, 1783.01.
This does also affect the d’Otrante Collection. Sylvia Kasprycki suggested already in 1997 (American Indian Art Magazine 22/3 - in the EM library) that the drawstring pouch 1854.02.0028 is the one missing from the Wrangel Collection. I think she’s very probably right. The pouch is visible in one of the AEU photographs, same wall as the pipe tomahawk (currently describes as „calumet“ and with inv.no. 1873.01.0001), pipe head from the actual calumet, and headdress with already reconstructed history 1783.01.0005.

There is a pipe bag from the Cheyenne at EM that currently has the number 9000.20.0003. That one dates to the first half of the 19th century and d’Otrante collected another Cheyenne piece - 1854.02.0011. I think there’s a good chance that they got mischanged.

As it appears to me, the whole collection 1783.01 is still at EM, inventoried as follows:

1783.01.0001 - calumet pipe - 9000.01.5159, only pipe head, stem currently missing
1783.01.0002 - little axe - 1783.01.0001, misattributed, a tomahawk is not a calumet and this one is not fitting the description for the pipe
1783.01.0003 - ammunition bag - 1854.02.0028
1783.01.0004 - moccasins - 9000.22.0086
1783.01.0005 - headdress - already corrected

I’m still working on proof, but all of the pieces were at the museum before Josua Lindahl and Cornelia Pålman copied the original Riksmuseet list of ethnograpic pieces, now known as Smitts Förteckning. And I already found most of them in earlier inventories. It might not be beyond doubt, but I think there’s a good chance we can properly reconstruct the Wrangel Collection.

All best,
Martin

Mit freundlichen Grüssen,
Martin Schultz
__________________________________

Martin Schultz

schultzst-und-kontext.de
www.kunst-und-kontext.de