De Pan

From the Smithsonian Institution Research Information Service (SIRIS) comes this photo featuring a decorated Iroquois (Mohawk) ceremonial paddle dated circa 1891...




The paddle features a dual tone motif, sometimes seen in other artistic renditions or model samples. This earlier post featuring a painting by James Peachey dated to 1785 shows Iroquoian paddlers on Lake Ontario with similarly themed paddle decoration.....





New York's Metropolitan Museum of the Arts has a bark canoe model with similarly decorated paddles in their collection dated to pre-1845 (original post HERE) although of course the pigment has faded with time.

A decorated Algonquin paddle from the National Museum of the American Indian. First time I've seen this decoration pattern and no idea about its significance but if the date of this paddle is correct (1780-1820) it shows that the flat extended grip has been in use for many centuries. This corroborates the circa 1770s Cree Paddle design I posted on before. Unfortunately there are no dimensions provided, but from the general shape of it, it would seem to make a beautiful solo paddle.



Date created: 1780-1820
Place: Eastern Canada
Collection history unknown; formerly in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Salem (now the Peabody Essex Museum); acquired by MAI via an exchange with the Peabody Museum in 1963.
Catalog number:23/2290

Here's an image of a circa 1900 Odawa paddle with decorative etchings referenced in an out of print exhibition catalog, The art of the Great Lakes Indians. Flint, Mich.: Flint Institute of Arts, 1973. p. 98.


Ottawa Canoe Paddle
c.1900
Maple
Length: 136.5cm
Blade width: 10cm
The curator at the Logan Museum of Anthropology was kind enough to send me additional details to post. The paddle, made around 1900, was purchased from Margaret Ashkanock in 1917 in Cross Village, Michigan by Albert Green Heath. The descriptive catalog information refers to the object as a "wooden paddle carved in geometric designs and heart shapes, triangular hole in handle." Despite not being visible on this B&W image, there are traces of red and gray paint between the engraved decorations on the top of blade.

When I met Pam Wedd of Bearwood Canoes a while back to greet and register for the canoe building course, I mentioned my pyrography and paddle art and that I wanted to do some custom burning on the decking and yoke of the boat. She let me take one of the unfinished, carved cherry yokes that I'd be installing to decorate before the build.


The carved yoke on my messy dining room table
These cherry yokes are by far the most comfortable I've ever tried, with fantastic workmanship and quality cherry for the wood. It seemed to fit perfectly on my shoulders (broader than average) without causing any real pressure points on any protruding bones. The sculpted curvature of the yoke as well as its tapering design on the ends made it challenging for me to come up with a suitable image. At first, I thought about some nature scene, but nothing really fit. Then I thought about some Ottoman Turkish floral designs but they seemed to dainty for this boat. In the end, I went back to the Maori pattern I used on my Cherry Fusion Paddle last year. I found the contrasting, flowy design to be suitable to the curves of the yoke and thought it would be a nice addition when using some of my more tribal paddle art.


Burning the initial lines
Unlike alot of my work that involves transfering images with Saral Transfer paper, I free-handed this one with a basic flow-point, single temperature pyrography pen. After a few days on and off, the basic negative image pattern emerged. Once this is varnished, the natural tone of the cherry with the burned background really looks eye-catching.


The Maori Pattern