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Introduction

Hat made of birch bark and decorated with porcupine quills. Anishinaabeg, made between 1860 and 1890. Donated to the British Museum in 1954 by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum.

Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe
Nation of Origin

Based upon style comparisons with items collected by Lewis Henry Morgan, this hat has a floral emblem typically used by the Ojibway.

Date Made or Date Range: Mid 19 C to Late 19 C
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Created with information from the British Museum accession record and observations made by the GRASAC research team.

Materials

Birch bark decorated with porcupine quills in red (now faded), green, possibly yellow and natural. Sewn together with black thread.

Techniques or Format

The quills have been inserted into the bark. The sides and top are lined with separate pieces of bark. It has been constructed in the style of a French foreign legion hat.

Motifs and Patterns

Leaf shapes decorate the sides and rim, and a central flower with four petals is found above the brim.

Additional Context

The central flower is perfectly symmetrical, pointing in the four directions.

Other Notes

This item shows the versatility of birch bark as a medium for art.

Dimensions: 28 × 20 × 0 cm
Condition: Fair. Some quills are missing. There was probably at one time a tape or ribbon lining around the brim, as this area is bare of quills and there are stitch marks.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

The quills were coloured with analyine dyes, so it must have been made after 1857.

Current Location: British Museum, London, UK
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: Am1954,05.943
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Wellcome Historical Medical Museum
Collection Narratives and Histories

Donated by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum to the British Museum in 1954.

GKS Reference Number: 26939
How to Cite this Item

Unknown Annishinabe artist, cap. Currently in the British Museum, Am1954,05.943. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2007; GRASAC item id 26939.

Record Creation Context

This record was created as part of a Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC) research trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum, December 8-22 2007, funded by a grant from the International Opportunities fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Record Creation Notes/Observations

Researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), John Borrows (JB), Lindsay Borrows (LB), Alan Corbiere (AC), Darlene Johnston (DJ), Henrietta Lidchi (HL), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Bruce Morito (BM), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).

Approximate Place of Origin

43.0703, -80.1184

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