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1 of 253523 objects
Basket ( 1860
Birch, porcupine quill | 9.0 x 18.0 x 11.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 84336
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Birch-bark basket (makak) with quillwork floral designs on the side, with substantial areas of loss. No lid. Stitched birch-bark lining on sides and base of interior. The wrapping on the box rim may be spruce root or split ash. Some evidence of historic adhesive repairs.
A contemporary handwritten paper label within identifies this basket as the work of Minny Cobierge. Historic Royal Household inventories also associate the basket with Elizabeth 'Betsy' Crowe.
Minny Cobierge (Mary Cabbage on the 1861 census) won a prize for the Second Best Pair of Moccasins (worked with porcupine quills) at the 1848 Cobourg Fair. In the 1861 census she is listed as age 50, born at Rice Lake, single, and living with Abram, Harriet and Thomas McCue, “all family members.”
Supplementary biographical information provided by Dr Laura Peers, Dr Lori Beavis and community members.
This basket is one of more than a dozen birchbark containers presented as gifts to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in September 1860 by Michi Saagiig women. The prince visited the community at Rice Lake Village (now Hiawatha First Nation), Ontario, during a landmark two-month tour of Canada – the first royal tour of these territories.
The baskets are known as ‘makaks’ in Anishnaabemowin, an Indigenous language spoken by the Mississauga First Nation community. Most are decorated with porcupine quillwork using a combination of Indigenous geometric and European-inspired floral designs. Unusually, the names of the women who made the makaks are preserved, on handwritten paper labels or quilled birchbark tags.
The meeting at Rice Lake was an important opportunity for community members to acknowledge and renew their special relationship with the Crown. Gimaa (Chief) Paudash made a speech expressing their identity as sovereign nations allied to the Crown – a bond which stretched back hundreds of years. The presentation of the makaks and other gifts signified the renewal of these allegiances and obligations.
After the prince’s return to Britain, the makaks were displayed in the Swiss Cottage Museum at Osborne House, Isle of Wight.
Provenance
Presented to Prince Albert Edward (future King Edward VII) at Rice Lake, August 1860
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Creator(s)
(designer/maker)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Birch, porcupine quill
Measurements
9.0 x 18.0 x 11.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
Place of Production
Rice Lake [Ontario]
