Though originally the traditional headdress of the Glengarry Fencibles, the Glengarry bonnet or cap has been seen throughout British military history, eventually landing as part of the characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the British Army in the 1850s. Broader wear throughout more regiments was being seen by the 1860s, and, coupled with the cap's popularity amongst men and women, likely made its presence more visible in North America and, by proxy, to Indigenous makers. This lot, magnificently beaded to the point of heft in the final product, is festooned with foliage and flowers. Repeating patterned borders frame the design work on all three panels, while their edges are carefully bound in silk ribbon, all adding to the regality of the final, finished product.

References: For another example of a Beaded Glengarry Bonnet, see 19th century Iroquoian beaded Glengarry bonnet, at the Museum Windsor, #1961.20, Maliseet Beaded Glengarry Cap at the Maine State Museum, #84.9.1, and Hat (#16:55), Cap (#16:59), Hat (#86:78), and Headdress (#86:74) at the Iroquois Museum. For a general overview of Indigenous-made “souvenir” work, see Ruth B. Phillips, Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700–1900, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998).