Birchbark Basket
Abenaki
Birchbark basket with flower or clover design
Early 20th century
Container’s mouth: 11 x 8
Gift from the Edward J. Guarino Collection
In memory of Edgar J. Guarino
2009.26.38
An unknown artist from the Abenaki tribe in Maine created this birchbark basket. The Abenaki have valued birchbark because the grain follows the circumference of the tree, making it a sophisticated and durable medium. For canoes as well as baskets, the Abenaki looked for flawless bark called wɘlasα’gwal. But as this container demonstrates, artists also used ka’ka*sα‘gwe, wood that has eyelets or scars.
In the early 20th century, gathering birchback entailed constructing a slow fire beneath one side of the wood; then, the collector sliced the log lengthwise little by little. Pouring warm water on top of the bark facilitated this process. When a tribe member collected this basket’s wood, sap flew and the exposure turned the winter bark an orange, reddish color. Until an artist used the bark, he kept it rolled up (Speck 1976, 122). Passamaquoddy basket maker David Moses Bridges explains that birchbark has no expiration date, “As long as you keep it moist and out of sunlight, it will last forever” (Maine Basket-makers Alliance).
During the ornamentation process, the artist heated the bark and skillfully etched the four leaf plant patterns on the container’s sides; scraping off the birchbark’s surface yielded the light under layer. Plant designs could have represented medicinal herbs with protective or curative properties or a motif the artist saw on other European arts. To construct the container, the artist wetted one sheet of the malleable bark, cut four folds running in one direction, and fashioned the box shape. Baskets such as these were sold to outsiders and provided much needed income for the community (Speck 1976, 122).
Danielle Gibbins