Birchbark Model Canoe and Three Dolls with Assorted Equipment

Datemid 18th century

DimensionsA - Male Figure: 9 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 3 in. (24.1 × 11.4 × 7.6 cm)
B - Female Figure: 9 × 5 × 2 1/4 in. (22.9 × 12.7 × 5.7 cm)
C - Child Bust: 2 × 1 1/8 × 3/4 in. (5.1 × 2.9 × 1.9 cm)
D - Cradleboard: 7 × 4 7/8 × 2 1/2 in. (17.8 × 12.4 × 6.4 cm)
E - Sled: 8 × 2 1/8 × 2 in. (20.3 × 5.4 × 5.1 cm)
F - Snow Shoe: 4 × 2 × 1/4 in. (10.2 × 5.1 × 0.6 cm)
G - Beaded Cover: 3 × 2 1/8 × 3/8 in. (7.6 × 5.4 × 1 cm)
H - Barrel: 1 5/8 × 1 1/8 × 1 1/4 in. (4.1 × 2.9 × 3.2 cm)
I - Jug: 1 1/2 × 7/8 × 7/8 in. (3.8 × 2.2 × 2.2 cm)
J - Twig Bundle: 1 5/8 × 3/8 × 3/8 in. (4.1 × 1 × 1 cm)
K - Oar 1: 9 1/2 × 3/4 × 1/8 in. (24.1 × 1.9 × 0.3 cm)
L - Oar 2: 9 3/8 × 1 × 1/16 in. (23.8 × 2.5 × 0.1 cm)
M - Mast: 10 1/2 × 7 1/4 × 1/2 in. (26.7 × 18.4 × 1.3 cm)
N - Canoe: 26 5/8 × 7 × 5 5/8 in. (67.6 × 17.8 × 14.3 cm)

MediumBirchbark, pigment, hide, wool, cotton and silk, wax, human hair, metal, glass beads, shell

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, by exchange

Object number

2023.368A-N

Not on View

DescriptionThe model canoe is of classic form, with wood sheathing, ribs and crossbars, sewn with split roots and seams sealed with spruce gum, the exterior finely painted, in red, white, and black paint, with curvilinear designs and a series of dots outlining motifs, the male and female doll, each with modelled wax heads, arms and legs, wearing traditional costumes and accessories, the baby, in a fully appointed carrier; together with equipment including: a powder horn, tobaggon, a keg and a snowshoe.

Published ReferencesPhillips, Ruth B. and Dale Idiens, “‘A Casket of Savage Curiosities’: Eighteenth-century Objects from Northeastern North America in theFarquharson Collection,” Journal of the History of Collections, 1994, vol. 6, no. 1.