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birchbark basket
birchbark basket
birchbark basket
Birchbark basket made with porcupine quills, silk ribbon, and spruce root dyed dark brown on the bottom. The birchbark was folded rather than cut, which can be seen from the continuous grain on the bark. The porcupine quills make up the colourful floral motifs on the sides and lid of the basket, and they line each of the four edges. This item was collected by Johann Georg Schwarz in the 1820s, and it is currently housed at the Weltmuseum Wien, Austria.
Reason for attribution required.
GRASAC research notes created during an onsite visit to Weltmuseum in January of 2016.
Read More About This Relative
Birchbark, porcupine quills, silk ribbon, spruce root dyed dark brown on bottom.
Inside is unlined; handle has come off and is stored inside; lid was probably hinged but has come off; three pieces of bark - front back and bottom constructed of one piece, the two sides are individual pieces that are folded in at the bottom at the base; evidence that the panels is folded rather than cut can be seen in the continuous grain in the birch bark.
There is triangular contour on the seams of the basket. These triangular contours are very similar to the triangular contours on another birchbark basket in the Weltmuseum Wien with the accession number 011991, GKS ID 59007. There are also floral motifs.
Assessed by Ruth Phillips during the GRASAC trip to the Weltmuseum Wien to have possibly been used as a ladies handbag.
Johann Georg Schwarz collected this item, possibly when he traveled to Detroit and through Upper Canada in the winter of 1820-1821.
Provenance
Johann Georg Schwarz traveled to Detroit and through Upper Canada in the winter of 1820-1821.
About This GRASAC Record
Unknown Menomeni artist, birchbark basket. Currently in the Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna, Austria, 11990. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip January 2016; GRASAC item id 59009.
In January of 2016, a small team of GRASAC researchers visited the collection to study and photograph it: Ruth Phillips, Lisa Truong, Naomi Recollet (Anishinaabe (Odawa/Ojibwe), Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory) and Wahsontiio Cross (Mohawk, Kahnawake). This GKS record was created in December of 2021 by GRASAC RA Aidan Mitchell-Boudreau.