Pouch c. 1940s

This small pouch was made at some point by a Navajo (Diné) artist, and it is now kept at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I wonder who wore this pouch, and what they carried inside. Imagine the work that went into making it – the cutting and shaping of the leather, the careful placement of each silver stud. There's something so tactile about the studded leather. You can almost feel the coolness of the metal against your skin. I can imagine the maker wanting the pouch to be beautiful as well as useful, adorning it with these shining silver studs that catch the light. You can see this same thing happening today in the work of artists like Liza Lou, who also work with beads and glass. Isn't it amazing how art and craft speak to each other across time, inspiring new ways of seeing and making? And how an object like this can tell us so much about the person who made it, and the world they lived in?