Anishinaabe house

This elaborate Anishnaabe birchbark house is made with a gabled roof. Two of its four sides are pointed to create the cable. The roof, or lid, which can be lifted up on one side, is porcupine quilled with an elaborate floral motif. The lower part of the house is quilled to suggest windows with shades. One shade is tied like a curtain. There is also a small bush with stems, leaves, and little berries. Sweet grass is used to edge the house. This piece dates to a period when, in the later part of the 19th century, Anishnaabe women were making birchbark containers in various kinds of eccentric shapes, including goblets, handbags, and houses.