bootaagnaatik pestle

bootaagnaatik pestle

bootaagnaatik pestle

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Introduction

This bootaagnaatik, pestle, is tan in colour and made from cleaned maple wood. The bootaagnaatik, pestle, has a drum-shaped striking end that contains cracking on its sides and base, showing its use. This ancestor's handle is cylindrical, but swells in the middle. The finial on this bootaagnaatik is of a seated dog on a triangular pedestal. GRASAC researchers suggest this dog was of a European breed rather than Indigenous. According to the collector Richard Pohrt, this pestle was used for mashing corn. This relative is currently located in the Detroit Institute of Arts. 

Nation of Maker: Odawa
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

According to the Detroit Institute of Arts, this ancestor's nation of origin is Odawa.

Place of Origin: Michigan, USA
Date Made or Date Range: 1890
Materials

wood (maple)

Techniques or Format

Pestle with a drum-shaped striking end and a narrow cylindrical handle swelling slightly in the middle.

Motifs and Patterns

The finial is carved as a seated dog on a triangular pedestal.

Additional Context

GRASAC researchers believed the dog is aEuropean breed, as opposed to an Indigenous breed.

Original and Subsequent Uses

According to Pohrt, pestle used for mashing corn.

Dimensions: 16.25 × 2.5 × 3 in
Condition: Evidence of wear on the bottom; also the handle appears to have been cleaned.
Current Location: Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 81.101
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://dia.org/collection/pestle-56265
Collection at Current Location: Mary B. Shurtleff Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1981
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Richard A. Pohrt
Collection Narratives and Histories

Mary B. Shurtleff (Cross Village, Michigan, USA)

purchased by Richard A. Pohrt [1911-2005] (Flint, Michigan, USA)

1981-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

Richard Pohrt collected the Shurtleff Collection in the 1960s from Mary Shurtleff. She had a lot of WPA materials. She had a trading post at Cross Village.

Source for Provenance information

Provenance information was taken from the Detroit Institute of Arts catalogue.

GKS Reference Number: 25875
Record Creation Context

This record was augmented by Natasha Fares on February 24th, 2024. The photographs were removed by Natasha Fares on February 24th, 2024 to respect an agreement between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Michigan Anishinaabeg Communities of Practice group.

Approximate Place of Origin

45.640927788365, -85.037963023967

Source of Information about Places

Pohrt collected this item from Mary Shurtleff, whose family had a trading post in Cross Village, Michigan.

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