mkak, box, birchbark
mkak, box, birchbark
mkak, box, birchbark








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.
Catalogue card indicates it is Ojibwe.
The information in this record is based on museum documentation.
Read More About This Relative
birch bark, natural porcupine quills, sweetgrass, black cotton thread.
The kaawyikewin forms flower motifs on the top of the lid and covers the sides of the mkak in geometric patterns.
Probably made for sale.
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.
Record indicates it was collected around 1910.
Provenance
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.
About This GRASAC Record
Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark. GRASAC ID 26847. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 42-29-45A & 42-29-45B.
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.