Browse Exhibits (3 total)
Four Views of an Octagonal Birchbark Box
The box was created in 1900 by an unknown Odawa artist in Harbor Springs, Michigan. The box is a 5 ½ inch octagon and is composed of 8 birch bark panels, a circular bottom, and a removable lid. Each panel is embellished with inlaid with a porcupine quillwork of a white flower with branching stem and leaves. The lid is similarly adorned, with a larger, more intricate flower design. The panels are held together with sweetgrass supported by a black thread (MSU Museum n.d.)
Four Views of Knife and Sheath
These are the four views of "Knife and Sheath", made and formally owned by Mary Wemigwase. The Four views that will be discussed is the Intent of Production, Federal Recognition, Building of Knife and Sheath, and Cultural Impact.
Quill Box
The quillbox is truly a work of thoughtful hard work, and has resulted in an incredibly beautiful art piece.
On the interior of the box there is a lining placed inside that supports the birch bark perimeter and siding, this not only offers support but hides where the quills are naturally attached to the bark, making the inside look uniform, composed of all one material.
On the top of the box a rabbit is depicted scampering surrounded with a brown scalloped border the alternating colors of the quills, white and brown alternating to create the form of the rabbit and the shading to create the dimension and movement.The sides are semi continuous with rounded corners, there is a continual motif of a rabbit scampering around showing the different illustrations showing the rabbit in different stages of moment the differing colors showing the shadows hitting the rabbit and indicating movement and change in shape as the rabbit moves. The bottom of the sides has the same scalloped detailing as the top lid. The top of the side has a rim of sea grass lining and so does the edge of the basket.
The following discussion will look at four in depth and descriptive views of Yvonne Walker Keschik's Quill Box featuring a running rabbit motif. The four views that will be discussed here will be Environmental respect and resources, Intergenerational Knowledge and it's important to the Indigenous community's health, Art as resistance, and the origins and future of Quillwork.
The photography for this exhit has come from Michigan State University Museum's collection, and was photographed by Pearl Yee Wong in 2017.