Explore The Royal Family's close relationship with the region, as well as the diverse artistic traditions represented in the Royal Collection
Basket (
1860Birch bark, buck skin, porcupine quill, sweetgrass or wrapped root, metal, deer hair | 7.5 x 12.0 x 8.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 84306
This birch-bark basket (mokuk) is one of several presented to Prince Albert Edward in 1860 by the Mississauga community, near Rice Lake, Ontario. Each is embroidered with dyed porcupine quills. Many still contain handwritten labels identifying their makers by name – rare documentary evidence for Indigenous craftsmen and women of this period.
The meeting at Rice Lake was an important opportunity for First Nations representatives to demonstrate their loyalty to the Crown. It was also a chance to express grievances about appropriation of land. For this reason, many craftswomen chose to decorate their gifts with distinctly Indigenous motifs, rather than European-inspired floral designs. Here, the hourglass and zigzag shapes evoke archaic symbols for the thunderbird and underwater panther, signifying the spirits of the upper and lower worlds respectively.
