Thursday, July 5, 2018

C1849 Peabody Green Passamaquoddy Replica

Long time readers of the blog will recognize my affinity for a special paddle in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology.  Item Number  99-12-10/53655 is a Passamaquoddy paddle featuring a green blade and decorative double curves added in white paint.

Peabody Number: 99-12-10/53655
Canoe paddle, elaborately decorated. Blade painted green, double curve motif.
Dimensions: Length: 180.5 cm, Width: 17.6 cm, Dep: 3.3 cm
Donor: Heirs of David Kimball (1899) 


Discussions of this beautiful piece have been made in many posts over the years.  The lovely blade shape has been been the inspiration for many of my paddle creations, including the heirloom paddles for my two sons, my main  tripping paddle and a few others (posts here and here). 

Using an old piece of poplar stock, I decided to replicate the design again while trying to stay true to the original paddle's features. It was however scaled down to my preferred paddle length. The shaft was stained to mimic the aged wood in the museum photo and the blade painted with green Tremclad oil paint with the white decorative curves.

Given my clumsy nature with paints, the double curves ended up thicker than the original, but here is the final result...


c1849 Peabody Paddle Replica

This one will also be featured in the feature display for the WCHA assembly




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