mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

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Images
Introduction

This round Anishinaabe mkak (box) is made from wiigwaas (birchbark) and decorated with kaawyikewin (quillwork) in floral and geometric patterns. In 1942, Anna Blakiston Day, wife of Frank Miles Day, gifted the mkak to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides.

Name of Maker(s): Maker unrecorded
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe Ojibwe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Catalogue card indicates it is Ojibwe.

Place of Origin: Minnesota, USA
Date Made or Date Range: Before 1910
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

birch bark, natural porcupine quills, sweetgrass, black cotton thread.

Motifs and Patterns

The kaawyikewin forms flower motifs on the top of the lid and covers the sides of the mkak in geometric patterns.

Original and Subsequent Uses

Probably made for sale.

Other Notes

The images on the UPenn database are switched for 42-29-45A-B and 42-29-46A-B. The images on this record are correct for 42-29-45A-B.

Dimensions: 12 × 12 × 10 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Record indicates it was collected around 1910.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 42-29-45A (box); 42-29-45B (box lid)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/268321
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1942
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of Mrs. Franklin Miles Day, 1942
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1900 to 1910
Collection Narratives and Histories

In 1942, Anna Blakiston Day, wife of Frank Miles Day, gifted the mkak to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides.

GKS Reference Number: 26847
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark. GRASAC ID 26847. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 42-29-45A & 42-29-45B.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a research visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology May 5, 2010.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on January 26, 2025.

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