mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

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Introduction

This Anishinaabe (possibly Odawa) mkak (box) is made from birchbark and decorated with floral and leaf motifs. It was collected in 1916 by Frank Speck from Lake Temagami in Ontario, CA. Speck gifted it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1929, where it currently resides. 

Name of Maker(s): Unrecorded
Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe Odawa
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

The catalogue card suggests this mkak is Ottawa. However, Adriana Greci-Green says she would not associate this box with Ottawa.

Place of Origin: Temagami First Nation
Date Made or Date Range: before 1916
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on the catalogue card and information from the GRASAC research team.

Materials

birchbark, spruce or cedar root, buckskin thong

Techniques or Format

A sgraffito technique was used to decorate the box with floral and leaf motifs.

Dimensions: 22.86 × 17.78 × 15.24 cm
Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 29-10-98A (box); 29-10-98B (box lid)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/562887
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1929
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of Frank Speck (#94-99), 1929
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1916
Collection Narratives and Histories

It was collected in 1916 by Frank Speck from Lake Temagami in Ontario, CA. Speck gifted it to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1929, where it currently resides.

GKS Reference Number: 24957
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark. GRASAC ID 24957. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 29-10-98A & 29-10-98B.

Record Creation Context

This record was created during a GRASAC research trip to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 6 2010. Researchers present: Adriana Greci-Green, Stacey Loyer, Coralie Boeykens
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on August 13, 2024.

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