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Side chair with porcupine quillwork panels
Native American, Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
1860–80
Object Place: Maine or Nova Scotia, U.S.A., Canada, Northeast or Canada
Medium/Technique
Ebonized mahogany, porcupine-quillwork with vegetal dyes on birch bark; porcelain, iron, and brass casters
Dimensions
109.2 x 47.0 x 47.6 cm (43 x 18 1/2 x 18 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds by exchange from a Gift of the Estate of Jeannette Calvin Hewett in memory of her husband Roger Sherman Hewett, Bequest of Greenville Howland Norcross, Bequest of George Nixon Black, and Bequest of Mrs. Stephen S. FitzGerald
Accession Number1992.521
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsFurniture – Seating and beds
The Mi'kmaq woman who made the seat and back panel of this chair would likely have been trained within a community of women artists to harvest birch bark without harming trees, make dyes from local plants, and expertly weave porcupine quills into the geometric patterns that we see here. Along with their language and histories in present-day Maine and northeastern Canada, the knowledge of these artistic techniques was passed down through generations. By the mid-1800s, Mi’kmaq artists responded to the Victorian souvenir market by incorporating quillwork into small lidded boxes, tea cozies, and even Renaissance-revival chairs like this one. Although some settlers saw these objects as a sign of assimilation, such works also brought Indigenous design into white households and created a way for resilient Mi’kmaq women to preserve the art of quillwork, even as it changed.
DescriptionSide chair with turned front legs and curved rear legs terminating in porcelain, iron, and brass casters; columnar stiles flanking the back panel, and carved c-scrolls on the crest rail, all embellished with gilt striping; seat and back panel consist of porcupine quillwork with geometric designs in shades of brown, white, and beige.
Side chair: Nova Scotia or Maine, 1860-1880
Quillwork: Algonquin, Micmac, Nova Scotia or Maine, 1860-1880
Side chair: Nova Scotia or Maine, 1860-1880
Quillwork: Algonquin, Micmac, Nova Scotia or Maine, 1860-1880
Provenance1992, sold by Ted Trotta, Cortland Manor, NY, to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 16, 1992)