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Introduction

Mat made of birch bark, sweetgrass, and flattened root, decorated with quillwork. Anishinaabeg, 19th century, probably from Manitoulin. One of several items collected by Father Edward Purbrick in 1879 and donated to Stonyhurst College. Part of the collection purchased by the British Museum from Stonyhurst College in 2003.

Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe
Nation of Origin

Manufacture techniques and style.

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

Created from information in the British Museum object catalogue and observations made by the GRASAC research team.

Materials

Made of birch bark, sweetgrass, black or dark brown thread, flattened root and porcupine quills, natural and dyed purple, magenta, green, yellow and white. Aniline dyes were used to colour the porcupine quills.

Techniques or Format

A central disc of birch bark is edged with a single row of flattened root and coiled sweetgrass. The next row is a flattened root in a zig zag pattern followed by coiled sweetgrass and a single line of flattened root. This is followed by a ring of birch bark followed by more coiled sweetgrass, a zig zag of flattened quillwork, and coiled sweetgrass with magenta dyed porcupine quills. The birch bark sections are decorated with porcupine quillwork.

Motifs and Patterns

A beaver motif is found on the central section. Floral motifs decorate the outer ring.

Dimensions: 26 × 21.7 × 0 cm
Condition: Poor. Quillwork on central image is falling off.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

British Museum accession record. Father Edward Purbrick acquired this item, along with other similarly-quilled birch bark pieces, while on a tour of inspection of Canadian Jesuit missions in the Central and Eastern Great Lakes region.

Current Location: British Museum, London, UK
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: Am2003,19.57
Collection at Current Location: Purbrick Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 2003
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Stonyhurst College
Collection Narratives and Histories

Collected by Father Edward Purbrick in 1879 and subsequently donated to Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit school in Lancashire. The Stonyhurst Collection was purchased by the British Museum in 2003.

Sources to Learn More

A description of Father Edward Purbrick's collection and a discussion on the decorative styles of many of the birch bark items is found in Ruth Phillips, Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700-1900 (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1998), 182-3.

GKS Reference Number: 24579
How to Cite this Item

Unknown Annishinabegartist, mat. Currently in the British Museum, Am2003,19.57. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2007; GRASAC item id 24579.

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), Darlene Johnston (DJ), Jonathan King (JK), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Bruce Morito (BM), Ruth Phillips (RP), Cory Willmott (CW).

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