mkak, container, birchbark

mkak, container, birchbark

mkak, container, birchbark

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Introduction

This Anishinaabe mkak (box or container) is made from wiigwaas (birchbark) with a floral design along the sides. It was purchased by Elizabeth Smaltz (Mrs. Joseph E. Smaltz) from an Ojibwe maker in 1908 in Lake Temagami, Bear Island in Ontario. In 1958, she left it as a bequest 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)

Collector's card says the donor purchased it from an Ojibwe maker.

Date Made or Date Range: Before 1908
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

birch bark, spruce, commercially-tanned buckskin thong

Techniques or Format

The sgraffito technique was used to make the floral and maple-leaf design. Associated label reads, "The leaves are made by peeling off a portion of the bark."
The mkak has an associated birchbark lid and rawhide handle (not pictured).

Motifs and Patterns

There is a floral and maple-leaf design along the sides.

Condition: There is a crack on the bottom.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

It was collected in August 1908.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 58-34-7C (container); 58-34-7A (lid); 58-34-7B (handle)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/200321
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1958
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Bequest of Elizabeth Smaltz (Mrs. Joseph E.), 1958
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: August 1908
Collection Narratives and Histories

It was purchased by Elizabeth Smaltz (Mrs. Joseph E. Smaltz) from an Ojibwe maker in 1908 in Lake Temagami, Bear Island in Ontario. In 1958, Elizabeth Smaltz left the mkak as a bequest to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it currently resides.
Associated label reads, "Bought this basket from Ojibwa Indian woman, who made it. Bear Island, Temagami Lake, August 1908."

GKS Reference Number: 26831
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, container, birchbark. GRASAC ID 26831. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 58-34-7A-C.

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 26, 2025.

Approximate Place of Origin
Marker
Source of Information about Places

Temagami First Nation is identified on the map as Bear Island is associated with its place of purchase, but this reflects only one potential place in the relative's life. It is not a known place of origin. This information is informed by provenance research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

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