mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

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Introduction

This Anishinaabe mkak (box) is made from birchbark and decorated with natural porcupine quills and split. It was collected in Northern Michigan by Amos H. Gottschall between 1871 and 1905. His collection was likely left to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANS) sometime before 1937. ANS formally gifted the collection to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1997, where it currently resides. 

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

Described in Gottschall's catalogue as "Chippewa" (Ojibwe).

Place of Origin: Michigan (Northern Michigan), USA
Date Made or Date Range: before 1905
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation

Materials

second growth birchbark; porcupine quills, natural; spruce or cedar root; white thread

Techniques or Format

A rectangular box made with panels of birchbark, joined together with white thread and porcupine quill "x"s. On the box, the quills hold down split a root edging. The top rim of the box has split root on the inside, sewn down with white thread. On the lid, the top and sides are joined with porcupine quill criss-crosses. The top has split root attached with porcupine quill criss-crosses. The lid's bottom edge has split root attached.

Dimensions: 30 × 10 × 8.4 cm
Condition: The second inner layer of birchbark is ballooning out slightly.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Gottschall collected between 1871 and 1905.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 97-84-118 (museum number); L-84-118 (old museum number); 18070 (ANS number); I 837 (Gottschall number)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/215028
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1997
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1997
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1871 to 1905
Collection Narratives and Histories

This mkak was collected in Northern Michigan by Amos H. Gottschall between 1871 and 1905. His collection was likely left to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANS) sometime before 1937. ANS formally gifted the collection to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1997, where it currently resides.

Publication History

Gottschall, Amos H. Priced and Descriptive Catalogue of the Utensils, Implements, Weapons, Ornaments, Etc., of the Indians, Mound Builders, Cliff Dwellers: Typical Collections No. 1. 1909. (See: I 837)

GKS Reference Number: 25566
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark. GRASAC ID 25566. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 97-84-118.

Record Creation Context

Visit to University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 6 2010.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on August 16, 2024.

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