Bentwood Box

Name/Title

Bentwood Box

Entry/Object ID

L2024.3.88a-b

Description

Painted bentwood box with lid. Lid top made of tulip poplar and box bottom made of pine, sides of basswood with splint stitching. a. box b. lid

Context

This is an exquisite, black-stained splint box. It is entirely standard in form and material, except for the lid top which is made from a piece of commercially surfaced tulip (Liriodendon tulipifera) wood. The basswood sides are carefully cut down to a standard thickness with numerous strokes of the crooked knife (visible in the image to the right) rather than the cabinet scraper of the Euroamerican craftsman. The top panel must have been crafted from a piece of planed wood destined for a piece of regional furniture. Also tulip reaches its northern limits in Vermont, so it an uncommon wood anyway. An interesting example.

Acquisition

Source (if not Accessioned)

Abenaki Cultural Conservancy

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1860

Ethnography

Culture/Tribe

Abenaki
Native American

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Box, Storage

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Box

Nomenclature Class

Containers

Nomenclature Category

Category 07: Distribution & Transportation Objects

Material

Basswood, Tulip Poplar, Pine