mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass

mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass

mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass

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Introduction

This truncated pyramid Anishinaabe mkak (box) is made from wiigwaas (birchbark) and sweetgrass, with a floral design made from kaawyikewin (quillwork). It was collected 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 this relative currently resides.

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

Gottschall attributes this box to the "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

birchbark, sweetgrass; twisted inner cedar bark string and tassels; porcupine quills dyed green, orange/red, natural.

Techniques or Format

A box in the shape of a truncated pyramid.
Some of the cedar bark tassel is dyed red.

Motifs and Patterns

The kaawyikewin is done in red and white floral motifs on all sides of the mkak.

Other Notes
Dimensions: 17.7 × 17.7 × 8.3 cm
Condition: Much of the kaawyikewin has deteriorated.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

This is the date range when Gottschall collected.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 97-84-112 (Penn number); L-84-112 (old museum number); 18008 (ANS number); II 291 (Gottschall number)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/191034
Collection at Current Location: Amos H. Gottschall Collection
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 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 this relative 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. 2. 1909. (See: II 291)

GKS Reference Number: 26618
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass. GRASAC ID 26618. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 97-84-112.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a research visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 5, 2010.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on January 9, 2025.

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