Cup
Name/Title
CupEntry/Object ID
L2024.3.25Description
Cup fashioned from gourd with attached wooden handle with low relief carving of beaver.Use
Designed to fit under a waist sash with the hook, including beaver carving, facing outward.Context
Canoe cups are a distinct art form, usually carved from a single piece of wood that was carried and ready to scoop a cooling cup of water out of the lake or stream. This ladle is important for several reasons. First, it is the only example of gourd art that we have from the region. Second, it is one of only two known canoe cups from the region. Third, it has an important bas-relief beaver carved into the handle. There is a stylistically unique bas-relief beaver carved into the outside of the handle, reminiscent of the 20th century bas-relief “totem poles,” carved by Canadian Abenaki artists. Although this piece has a fairly good provenance from “a collector of local history in Rochester NH,” it is so distinctive in material and style, Wiseman really cannot say if it was from the region at all. The date is a guess from patination and what can be seen of the tack heads. The date is conservative, but may actually be 18th century.Acquisition
Source (if not Accessioned)
Abenaki Cultural ConservancyMade/Created
Date made
circa 1840Ethnography
Culture/Tribe
Abenaki
Native American