Wood (other)
Tomah Joseph (Maker)
Maine, United States, North America
1900-1930
Wood; Iron; Paint; Birch; Paper; Cedar; Alder
1964.0793
Object Number1964.0793 |
Basket (Picnic basket)
Wood (other)
Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont
Tomah Joseph (Maker)
Maine, United States, North America
Tribal affiliation for maker is Passamaquoddy culture.
1900-1930
1. Signature; Short end; Small owl ideogram
Native American; Sporting pictures; Indigenous peoples
Wood; Iron; Paint; Birch; Paper; Cedar; Alder
16 (H) , 15 (L) , 9.37 (D)
40.64 (H) , 38.1 (L) , 23.81 (D)
Overall height without handle: 7 7/8"
This picnic basket (lids now lost) is made from birchbark with the bark's inner reddish brown surface used for the basket's exterior. The inner bark has scratched designs including one humorous scene on a long side showing a hunter being hunted by his prey: deer have stolen his bow and treed him. The small owl scratched into one short end is a version of the ideogram used by Maine's best-known birchbark artist, Tomah Joseph. Joseph, a Passamaquoddy chief, worked as a recreational guide 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.