mokuk; birchbark container

mokuk; birchbark container

mokuk; birchbark container

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Introduction

Mokuk made of one piece of folded birchbark and an attached lid, filled with maple sugar. Adorned with floral quillwork on the front and back of the container, with heart motifs on the lid. Collected by Johann Georg Schwarz in the 1820s, this item is currently housed at the Weltmuseum Wien, Austria.

Name of Maker(s): Unknown Anishinaabe artist
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe
Nation of Origin

Mokuks are Anishinaabe in origin.

Date Made or Date Range: Before 1822
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

GRASAC research notes created during an onsite visit to Weltmuseum in January of 2016.

Materials

Birchbark, porcupine quills, thread, splint along rim.

Techniques or Format

One piece of folded birchbark and an attached lid; sides have vertical seam; sewn together with thread.

Motifs and Patterns

Floral and heart motifs.

Dimensions: 8 × 3 × 5 cm
Condition: Good; some bark scrapped off bottom.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Johann Georg Schwarz collected this item, possibly when he traveled to Detroit and through Upper Canada in the winter of 1820-1821.

Current Location: Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna, Austria
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 012042
Collection at Current Location: Schwarz Collection
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1820s
Previous Collectors: Johann Georg Schwarz
Collection Narratives and Histories

Johann Georg Schwarz traveled to Detroit and through Upper Canada in the winter of 1820-1821.

GKS Reference Number: 59030
How to Cite this Item

Unknown Anishinaabe artist, mokuk. Currently in the Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna, Austria, 12042. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip January 2016; GRASAC item id 59030.

Record Creation Context

In January of 2016, a small team of GRASAC researchers visited the collection to study and photograph it: Ruth Phillips, Lisa Truong, Naomi Recollet (Anishinaabe (Odawa/Ojibwe), Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory) and Wahsontiio Cross (Mohawk, Kahnawake). This GKS record was created in January of 2022 by GRASAC RA Aidan Mitchell-Boudreau.

Approximate Place of Origin

43.6, -71.9

Source of Information about Places

Johann Georg Schwarz collected this item, possibly when he traveled to Detroit and through Upper Canada in the winter of 1820-1821.

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