mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

top image
Images
Introduction

This round Anishinaabe mkak (box) is made from wiigwaas (birchbark) and decorated with kaawyikewin (quillwork) in floral and star patterns. In 1942, Anna Blakiston Day, wife of Frank Miles Day, gifted the mkak to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides.

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

Catalogue card lists the mkak as being Ojibwe.

Place of Origin: Minnesota, USA
Date Made or Date Range: Before 1910
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

birchbark; beige thread; split root; porcupine quills, natural.

Techniques or Format

Round mkak

Motifs and Patterns

The kaawyikewin forms a five-pointed star motif on the top of the lid and leaves on the sides of the mkak.

Other Notes

The images on the UPenn database are switched for 42-29-45A-B and 42-29-46A-B. For correct images of this mkak, see the images of the oval box on the record for 42-29-45A-B.

Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Record indicates it was collected around 1910.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 42-29-46A (box); 42-29-46B (box lid)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/563331
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1942
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of Mrs. Franklin Miles Day, 1942
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1900 to 1910
Collection Narratives and Histories

In 1942, Anna Blakiston Day, wife of Frank Miles Day, gifted the mkak to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides.

GKS Reference Number: 26634
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark. GRASAC ID 26634. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 42-29-46A & 42-29-46B.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a research visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 7, 2010. The researchers present were Adriana Greci-Green, David Penny, Stacey Loyer, and Coralie Boeykens.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on January 26, 2025.

Do You Have Knowledge to Contribute? Share with Us.
Scroll to top