mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass

mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass

mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass

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Introduction

This purse-shaped Anishinaabe mkak (box) is made from wiigwaas (birchbark) and bound and decorated with sweetgrass. 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)

Label refers to the mkak as being "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; black thread

Techniques or Format

Sweetgrass edging and trim decoration and handles. There are cedar bark tassels attached to the container with thin strings made from twisted pieces of inner cedar bark.

Purse shape in form.

Motifs and Patterns

Sweetgrass is braided to form flowers on the sides and top of the mkak.

Dimensions: 16.5 × 7.2 × 12.8 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

These dates are based on Gottschall's collecting activities.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 97-84-103A (box); 97-84-103B (box lid); L-84-103A-B (old museum numbers); 18014 (ANS number); II 272 (Gottschall number)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/250513
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 relative 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 272)

GKS Reference Number: 27039
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, box, birchbark and sweetgrass. GRASAC ID 27039. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 97-84-103A & 97-84-103B.

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 12, 2025.

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