Old Native American Indian Doll or Souvenir Beaded Suede Moccasins ~ Hand Made

These little moccasins were either a souvenirs or were made for a child's doll. They are too small for a baby's feet so probably fit a doll. Since there is no writing on the card to which they are still attached, I have no idea exactly, but I can say that they were made a long time ago by a Native American. They were acquired at a recent estate sale in California consisting of many wonderful Native American artifacts.

They are hand made of two pieces of very soft doeskin and sewn around the edge of the sole. There is a seam up the back and the stitching is visible on the inside around the heel. They are actually hand stitched to a piece of old cardboard that looks like the original card used when they were first made. The tiny seed beads used are navy and red glass. I have tried not to handle then too much as they are extremely delicate. As you can see in the photos, the suede is peeling slightly from age and is more than likely doeskin. The suede underneath is soft and like new. There is some wool stuffed into the toes, and it does look like unprocessed wool, but I'm not positive about that and I don't want to remove it to check and see.

I am uncertain of the age and so I am listing them in Collectibles and not Antiques although they look to be at least 100 years old. I am also uncertain of their value, so based on what I paid for them I have priced them accordingly. If anyone has any information on these, I would appreciate hearing from you. They are just about 2 1/4" long.

I recently saw an edition of the Antiques Roadshow on PBS with an appraisal of Native American dolls and clothes including moccasins. The appraiser indicated that Native American clothing and moccasins made for dolls was rare. The items on the show were valued in the hundreds of dollars and did have more beading than these.

Item ID: J066231