Jicarilla Apache Beaded Tab Bag with American Flags

ca. 1960

14.5" H x 8" W

Hand Crafted from Hide and Glass Seed Beads with 2 American Flag Motifs

In Very Good Condition

Jicarilla Apache tab bags are belt pouches or strike-a-light bags and are characterized by a unique blend of Southwestern and Plains Indian artistic influences. Those featuring American flags represent a late 19th and early 20th-century tradition where patriotic motifs were incorporated into Native crafts as symbols of identity, survival, or participation in events like Fourth of July celebrations. These bags frequently utilize lazy-stitch (or lane-stitch) beadwork, where beads are sewn in parallel rows or "lanes". This technique is a hallmark of Plains influence on Jicarilla art.

One side often features the American flag. Historically, artists used size 4/0 Venetian seed beads or small glass beads in vibrant "greasy" colors like yellow, sky blue, and translucent red. Flag motifs were often used by tribes during the reservation period to demonstrate peace or to allow traditional ceremonies to continue under the guise of American celebrations.