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VintageOjibwe/ Chippewa Indian Quill on Birch Bark Box- Star Design,Michigan, Circa 1940-70's
Thisattractive small porcupine quillwork decorated birchbark box featuresa red and white 5-pointed star on the top and all-over natural whiteand brown quillwork on the sides. The bottom edge of the tightlyfitting cover is edged with sweetgrass, an aromatic grass that istraditionally used by many Northern Woodlands basket makers.
TheOjibwe, sometimes called Chippewa, live mostly in the Northern GreatLakes regions of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Western Ontario.They are part of the Anishinaabe, a large group of related peoples,which includes the Odawa, Potawatomi, Nipissing, Mississaugas, andAlgonquin peoples (including the Abenaki of Northern New England andSouthern Quebec).
Birchbark containers, both plain and scratch-decorated, were traditionalutilitarian objects used for gathering, storing and cookingfoodstuffs. Their use clearly originated in prehistoric times. Probably influenced by needleworking skills introduced by CatholicNuns in the 1700's, Native women of the Northern Woodlands, usingnatural materials from their environment and their own formidableskills, developed porcupine quill-decorated boxes for sale to Whitesettlers and, later, to tourists.These quillwork boxes along with other types of baskets and, to some extent, beadwork, represent the last remaining traditional skills practiced by Native Americans of the Upper Midwest and the Northeast.
This wonderful box was likely made in Northern Michigan where artists have a long-standing tradition of creating pictorial porcupine quillwork on birch bark containers, and several quillwork communities & families feature geometric patterns, leaves, flowers, and local wildlife.
Dimensions: 3-1/4" across/ diameter, 2" tall
Condition: Very Good. No major damage. Where the quills bend under the base,there is an area where a couple of broken quills have been securedwith glue and another spot where one quill is missing (see photos).There is also a spot where the thread binding the sweetgrass edgingis loose. Colors are clear and unfaded.
