Object Number 1964.0793

Object Name

Basket (Picnic basket)

Category

Wood (other)

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Tomah Joseph (Maker)
1837-1914

Passamaquoddy Tribe (Inspiration)

Place of Origin

Maine, New England, United States, North America

Origin Notes

Tomah Joseph lived much of the time in Peter Dana Point, Maine and spent warmer months on or near Campobello Island. His tribal affiliation is with the Passamaquoddy culture.

Date

1890-1914

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Signature; Short end; Small owl ideogram

Subjects

Native American; Sporting pictures; Indigenous peoples

Materials

Wood; Iron; Paint; Birch; Paper; Cedar; Alder

Dimensions (inches)

16 (H) , 15 (L) , 9.37 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

40.64 (H) , 38.1 (L) , 23.81 (D)

Measurement Notes

Overall height without handle: 7 7/8"

Object Description

Web - 03/01/2011

This picnic basket (lids now lost) is made with the traditional material of birchbark with the bark's inner reddish brown surface reversed to serve as the exterior. The basket is enlivened with animal, bird, and tree images using a picture writing style of making lighter-color linear designs by removing some of the surface. These include a humorous scene on a long side showing a hunter held captive by his prey: deer have stolen his bow and treed him. The owl sitting on a branch on one of the basket’s ends had a personal meaning to Maine's best-known birchbark artist, Tomah Joseph. Joseph, a Passamaquoddy leader, also provided guided recreational experiences for tourists who began flocking to Maine in the 1910s and 20s. Joseph's most famous client was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a distant relative of Henry Francis du Pont who also summered in Maine.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Lester, Joan A. 1993 History on Birchbark The Art of Tomah Joseph, Passamaquoddy. 22.
• Owl images: p. 12. Llidded box fig. 35, p. 18