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mtignaagan beaver bowl
mtignaagan beaver bowl
mtignaagan beaver bowl
This ancestor is a mtignaagan in the shape of a mik, or a wooden beaver bowl, and is red brown in colour. This ancestor is oval shaped and has a concave bottom, with straight walls. The beaver's head, tail and feet are carved in low relief to show the beaver form when the bowl is reversed. The shape of the bowl suggests that the beaver is a young adult lying on its back. The beaver's head may have possibly been used as a pouring lip, and used for large feasts. The end of the bowl has a carved beaver tail, engraved with crosshatching patterns. Use-wear on the tail may suggest that this was used as a handle for carrying or pouring. This ancestor is currently located in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Ojibwa
DIA records
Information for this entry comes from the Detroit Institute of Arts catalogue, and Maurer, E.M. "Representational and Symbolic Forms in Great Lakes Area Wooden Sculpture." Bulletin of the DIA 62, no. 1 (1986): 7-17, fig. 8.
Read More About This Relative
wood
Oval bowl of carved wood, with concave bottom and straight walls.
The projecting head, tail, and feet are carved in low relief on the exterior of the walls, and give the bowl, when reversed, the appearance of a beaver.
Maurer relates this item to animal effigy when stating, "This object is a prime example of the sculptural conception of Great Lakes animal effigy bowls in which the carved elements that represent the animal are not merely attached to the bowl as additive decoration but are sculpturally and conceptually integrated with the form of the functional object" (Maurer, 1986, 10).
DIA records
Provenance
Collected by Alexander Harrow (1755-1811), British naval officer on the Great Lakes and pioneer settler on the St. Clair River above Algonac (Michigan, USA)
by 1950, by descent to Washington C. Harrow (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
ca.1951, sold by the family (George J. Heckroth, dealer, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA)
1951-present, purchased 1951 by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
As listed by the Detroit Institute of Arts catalogue
Feder, Norman. Two Hundred Years of North American Indian Art. Exhibition catalogue, Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1971, no. 78.
Maurer, E.M. "Representational and Symbolic Forms in Great Lakes Area Wooden Sculpture." Bulletin of the DIA 62, no. 1 (1986): 7-17, fig. 8.
The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First Peoples. Exhibition catalogue, Glenbow Museum. Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1987, no. W101.
About This GRASAC Record
This record was augmented by Natasha Fares on February 1st, 2024. The photographs were removed by Natasha Fares on February 1st, 2024 to respect an agreement between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Michigan Anishinaabeg Communities of Practice group.
Item was de-installed and photographed by Kelly Konieczki while on exhibit at the DIA, prior to the team's visit. During the GRASAC visit discussion of this item was captured exclusively on video by Crystal Migwans during a walk-through of the galleries; members did not have access to internet/GKS at the time to enter information.
42.621833648917, -82.548539822948
Provenance records indicate the bowl was original collected by Alexander Harrow (1755-1811), British naval officer on the Great Lakes and pioneer settler on the St. Clair River above Algonac.