c1900 Decorated Odawa Paddle

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.