Skip to main content
Collections Menu

Box

Date1847-1854
DimensionsOverall: 6 × 8 in. (15.2 × 20.3 cm)
Object numberT0299a-b
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextMi'kmaq (Micmac) women quilled decorative designs on birchbark in response to the growing interest of non-Natives for this work in the early 18th century. European and Canadian women were so intrigued with the art form that a demand for boxes and other containers quickly emerged. Elaborate geometric designs in quillwork covering entire surfaces were common.
ProvenanceBelieved to have been given as a presentation piece to James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, governor-general of Canada during his residency 1847-1854; descended in the Elgin family to the 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of Kincardine, Dunfermline, Scotland
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.86.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 97.
On View
On view
Mat
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
c. 1870
Hood
James Bay Cree
c. 1860
Box
Wendat (Huron)
1847-1854
Bag
c. 1820-1840
Bag
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
c. 1840-1850
Moccasins
Seneca (Haudenosaunee)
c. 1830
Bag
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
c. 1840-1850
Bag
Tahltan
c. 1875
Moccasins
Metis-Ojibwa
c. 1820-1840
Moccasins
Plains Cree
c. 1880
Bag
Anishinaabe (Ojibwa)
c. 1900
Chilkat Robe
Tlingit
c. 1850

5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

close

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required