Trade brooch (round)
Maker: Used by Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)
Medium:Incised silver
Geography: Made in Europe, used in USA and Canada
Date: late 18th century
Object number: 922.1.57
Credit Line: Gift of Miss Evelyn H.C. Johnson; the Chiefswood Collection
DescriptionThese brooches were brought to Canada during the American Revolution by Evelyn’s great grandmother. She gave them to Helen Martin, Evelyn’s grandmother, who was a Clan Mother and wife of Confederacy Chief John "Smoke" Johnson. Silver trade ornaments were highly prized by Haudenosaunee men and women in the 18th and early 19th centuries. When European companies stopped supplying silver ornaments in the 1830s, Haudenosaunee people began to produce their own supply.
