Musee de Quai Branly Cree Replica

Back in the summer I was working on three more historic replicas. One of the paddles was a reproduction of a pole-grip, Cree paddle dated to circa 1930-1935. The original with a black painted blade is in the Musee de Quai Branly in Paris, France.

Pagaie

Géographie :  Amérique –  Amérique du Nord –  Canada

Culture :  Amérique –  Cree

Date :  1930-1935

Dimensions et poids :  158.5cm  x 12.5cm, 647 g

Donateur :  Paul Coze

Précédente collection :  Musée de l'Homme (Amérique)

Numéro d'inventaire :  71.1931.44.155

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My version was made from a nearly flawless piece of spruce, hewn down with an axe and finished with a crooked knife. It turned out ok except for a cumbersome knot at the top of the pole grip which created a slight bulge in an otherwise straight shaft. Since coming back in the city, the blade has been painted to match the original. In a bit of new twist, I left a portion of the blade fast natural where the paddle details were burned.

The plan is to include this interesting design in a future display of more historic paddle designs, similar to the one made in 2018 for the WCHA Assembly