gaawyekaajgan quill box

gaawyekaajgan quill box

gaawyekaajgan quill box

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Introduction

This gaawyekaajgan, or quill box, is small, round, made of birch bark box and decorated with undyed and dyed quills used to create floral and geometric designs. The lid features a floral design in a bright fuchsia colour with a white circular centre and small green accents, while the sides have fuchsia and white geometric designs, also with small green accents. The rim is finished in sweetgrass with thin black thread holding the sweetgrass in place. The artist's name has not been recorded but the basket resides at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Identified as Anishinaabe by Anishinaabe women in the Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections group

Place of Origin: Toronto, ON
Date Made or Date Range: 1950-2000
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Records kept by the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, and artifact handling sessions conducted as part of the Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections project.

Materials

Birch bark, porcupine quills (undyed white, brown, dyed pink, green), sweetgrass, cotton thread (black)

Motifs and Patterns

There is a central pink flower on the lid with 8 large petals and a further 8 petal tips interspersed between the larger petals. A single green quill separates each petal. The centre of the flower is white, undyed raised quills. The lid is edged with sweetgrass attached with black cotton thread. The side of the box has a single row of undyed fancy geometric pattern quillwork interspersed with pink dyed quills in a crosshatch pattern.

Dimensions: 0 × 0 × 4 cm
Condition: Excellent. No colour fading, no broken or missing quills
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

The date range (mid-20th century, or 1950-2000) is based on the condition and colour of the box and quills, general agreement of participants in the Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections group. The quill box is listed in a catalogue in 2002, so it must have been made before then.

Current Location: Native Canadian Centre of Toronto
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 2012.1.101.1-2
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 2012
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Unknown
Collection Narratives and Histories

The provenance of this quill box is largely unknown. it was likely donated to the History Project at the NCCT by a community member, possibly for an art auction or sale that the History Project used to hold to raise money. The quill box was found with the rest of the collection when it was catalogued in 2012. The quill box is listed in Monica Bodirsky's (former History Project coordinator) notes written in 2002.

Source for Provenance information

Records maintained by History Project and Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

Publication History

Krmpotich, Cara. 2018. Beauty and Belonging. In "Routledge Handbook of the Anthropology of Beauty," Stephanie Bunn, ed, pp 324-338. London, New York: Routledge. Appears on page 330 as Plate 2 in this book chapter.

Comment on Source of Exhibition & Publication Data

Provided by Cara Krmpotich

GKS Reference Number: 27066
How to Cite this Item

Unknown Anishinaabe artist, quill box. Currently at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, 2012.1.101.1-2. GRASAC item id 27066.

Record Creation Context

Originally created by Emma Knight, research and collections assistant, Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections project. Updated by Cara Krmpotich, Project lead, Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections and GRASAC Member on January 17, 2024.

Approximate Place of Origin

43.668150996511, -79.404925761318

Source of Information about Places

Records produced by History Project staff and associations and information provided by participants in the Memory, Meaning-Making and Collections project.

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