The Maple Leaf RagFriends of the Canadian Collections

Spring 2014Amis des collections canadiennes

Be sure to attend this year's exciting Annual General Meeting

Lorne Brown Dan YashinskyPhoto courtesy Errol Young

CELEBRATE THE ROM'S 100thBIRTHDAY

Come and hear Lorne Brown,

Canadian banjo player, ballad singer andstoryteller

and Canadian storyteller Dan Yashinsky,

Jane Jacobs Prize winner for storytelling.

Be captivated as they tell Canadian stories andsing Canadian folk songs.

Wednesday May 28, 2014,

2-4 p.m.

Classrooms 3 & 4, First Floor

Royal Ontario Museum

ROM members $10.00; non-members $15.00

Registration required: 416.586.5700 or visitwww.rom.on.ca/members/events

Happy 100th birthday, Royal OntarioMuseum!

To mark the occasion, in this issue of The MapleLeaf Rag, we’ve listed a number of Canadianartifacts that the ROM has held for about 100years. Next time you’re at the ROM, look forthese treasures – most of them in the Canadiangalleries.

And we’ve arranged a second special treat youwon’t want to miss: two of Canada’soutstanding, award-winning storytellers – LorneBrown and Dan Yashinsky. Bring your friends tothis fun-filled and informative afternoon of songand story on May 28. At the beginning of thisfestival there’ll be a very brief annual generalmeeting (AGM) when next year’s Friends ofCanadian Collections/amis des collectionscanadiennes Board of Directors will be elected.But most of the afternoon will be with these twoamazing Canadians – Lorne and Dan.

Come and celebrate.

PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

When you renew your ROM membership (or fora new member), look for the heading “OptionalDonation” on the membership form. Under theheading “I would like to make an optionaldonation…” scroll down to the amount. To havevoting rights at the FCC AGM, please donate$50 or more.

Under “My gift is in support of…” scroll downto "Friends of the Canadian Collections/amisdes collections canadiennes," and place acheck mark.

We need your gifts to finance Canadianresearch and Canadian artifacts at the ROM.

Please continue to be a Friend.

2

BULL HEAD'S ROBE

Born around 1833to the Tsuu T'inatribe, Chief BullHead was aleading warrior ofhis tribe when inter-tribal warfare hadreached highintensity. His wardeeds are recordedon the paintedbuffalo hidedisplayed in theDaphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: FirstPeoples. Bull Head became chief of the tribe in1865 and remained so until his death in 1911.

In 1908, Edmund Morris commissioned thepainting of Bull Head's war history onto abuffalo hide. This recorded six of Bull Head'sexploits, along with a tally of the horses,weapons and scalps taken from the enemy.Unlike traditional war exploit paintings, thicklines were drawn to distinguish events andEnglish names and numbers were inscribed tokey into accompanying written explanations.The enemy Cree were shown in black and blueand the Tsuu T'ina in red and green.

Edmund Morris paid the artist $20. to paint therobe and $10. to Bull Head for providing theinformation. He donated the robe to the RoyalOntario Museum in 1913.

…Jean Read

DIAMONDS

Ever since Marilyn Monroe sang her famous song,we know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Butwho would have thought then that a treasure chestof diamonds was buried deep under thepermafrost of the Canadian Arctic. The discoveryof the first diamond mine – the Ekati Mine byChuck Fipke and his partners reads like a suspensestory.

Like many other gemstones, diamonds are found inkimberlite pipes. In the ROM’s Teck Suite ofGalleries: Earth’s Treasures one can see variouskimberlite rocks fromKirkland Lake, cantonde Guignes, Quebecand the DiavikDiamond mine. TheDiavik is the secondmost successfuldiamond mine inCanada. One isamazed that greyishkimberlite rocks house the world’s most fascinatinggem stones.

Diamonds are graded by the four Cs: cut, colour,clarity, and carat – but with Canada now one ofthe largest producers of diamonds, one can add afifth “C.” Canadian diamonds are marked withsymbols such as snowflakes, bears, beavers ornumbers engraved around the girdle. This isimportant as it marks Canadian diamonds as“issue free” gems as opposed to “blood andconflict” diamonds.

…Dorothea Burstyn

HUDSON STRAIT KAYAK

The skin-on-frame kayak from the Hudson Strait region –dating to the 1910-14 period – was used for hunting seaanimals. Seals, narwhal, whales, and walrus were huntedwith a harpoon. Ducks and geese were hunted with a multi-pronged spear that was thrown with a throwing board.

The Hudson Strait kayak design was characteristic of the eastern Arctic kayak style where themaximum width of the kayak occurred aft of the cockpit, giving it a full stern. Its wide stern, side-to-side flat bottom, and flared sides provided the kayak with good stability. The frames were usuallyconstructed from driftwood, then later covered by animal hides (usually seal) which were laced andsewn together, acting as the final structural element to a very strong and durable vessel.

This kayak is on display in the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples shown fullyequipped with harpoon, sealskin float, lance, bird spear, throwing board and gaff, all resting on itsforward and stern decks.

…Elizabeth Walter/Ken Lister

All images above courtesy of the ROM

3

PAUL KANE COLLECTION OF OIL PAINTINGS

In 1912, Sir Edmund B. Osler donated to the RoyalOntario Museum a cycle of 100 oil paintings byCanadian artist, Paul Kane (1810–1871). This was thefirst collection accessioned into the new museum duringthe year that the Royal Ontario Museum Act wassigned. Thus, Osler’s gift of Paul Kane’s paintingsrepresents the ROM’s foundation collection.

The paintings were inspired by graphite, watercolour,and oil-on-paper sketches that the artist created duringtwo separate journeys (1845–1848) that took him asfar west as Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island. Kane’spurpose, as he recorded in the preface to his bookWanderings of an Artist (1859), was to sketch “…theprincipal chiefs, and their original costumes, to illustratetheir manners and customs, and to represent the sceneryon an almost unknown country.” The cycle of paintings,in turn, was completed by March 1856 when they were delivered to the Hon. George William Allan,Kane’s principal patron.

Following the death of Allan in 1901, Edmund Osler purchased the cycle of paintings from the Allanestate. Subsequently donated to the ROM, the paintings are a full record of Kane’s journeys andrepresent an invaluable contribution to the documentation of Aboriginal culture that was rapidlychanging in the face of mid-19th century foreign pressures and influences. In recognition of its historicalvalue, as well as its significance to the ROM’s collection development, the Paul Kane collection of oilpaintings has been given a permanent location for display in the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada:First Peoples.

…Ken Lister

GOLD (elemental symbol Au from the Latin aureum meaning glowing dawn)

No material on earth has influenced human history to thedegree that gold has. All over the world, it becameassociated with the sun, fire and the most powerful gods. Itwas used to display wealth, status and power as well as forreligious purposes as a symbol of strength and light.

Gold is a remarkable material. It can be stretched, bent,rolled, moulded, woven and pounded to a thickness of1/1000th of a centimeter. It is soft and malleable as wellas heavy – twice as heavy as lead and twenty times asheavy as water. It is inert and does not react with othersubstances so it does not degrade. It can, however, bemixed with other metals.

The ROM has marvelous specimens in the Teck Suite ofGalleries: Earth’s Treasures. From a 100kg. solid gold

“loonie-shaped” coin in the Barrick Gold Gallery to high grade ore specimens in the Vale Inco Galleryof Mining, and from gold crystals, flakes and dendritic growths to large and small nuggets, there issomething to intrigue everyone.

…Eva Cunningham

"Return of the War Party" 1849-1856

Paul Kane

All images above courtesy of the ROM

TREBLE VIOL DESSUS (c.1680–1700 CE)

Social roles based on gender were rigidly defined in early Canadian societywith men expected to take on the economic and political functions and womenexpected to marry and bear children. However the daughters of affluent familieswere prepared for lives of privilege with instructions in music, writing andpainting. In Francophone society, nuns were the principle educators of youngCatholic women.

In 1725 CE, a convent school was established in Quebec City for the daughtersof well to do families and music was part of the curriculum. The viol was one ofthe most widespread musical instruments in La Nouvelle France and was usedprincipally in ensemble playing as part of a consort.

This Treble Viol Dessus in Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada is one of ten discovered about 1860 inthe cellar of L’Hôpital général de Québec. It was thought that the viols were hidden a hundred yearsearlier during the British siege of Québec. The ROM’s viol is the only musical instrument in Canada tosurvive from the period of French rule. Only five from the original câche had not disintegrated. Theother four are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

…Betty Stein

Edited by Liz Muir

Design/Layout by Marc Croteau4 The ROM is an agency of Government of Ontario

Detail of the viol

MASTODON (mammut americanum)

Smaller than mammoths, and closer in size to our modern-dayelephants but with shorter legs and a longer body, mastodons aremammals with shaggy fur. Like today’s elephants, mastodons belongto the proboscide order. They lived during the Pleistocene Epochfrom about 2,000,000 to 12,000 years ago.

This magnificent animal had two pair of tusks – the longer and morevisible pair was up to five metres long, while a second smaller pairwas at the front of the mastodon’s jaw. Herbivores, mastodonsinhabited the spruce and fir forests of North America, browsing on

leaves, twigs, branches and shrubs.

The ROM’s mastodon in the Reed Gallery of the Age of Mammals, found in Welland Ontario, wasbought by the ROM in 1919. It has only one tusk: the left tusk cavity in its skull closed during itslifetime.

…Malika Mendez

CROSS OF LORRAINE

This double-barred silver cross (a form known as a ‘cross of Lorraine’) was madeas an item of trade silver for giving to – or trading with - First Nations people.Such silver crosses were often worn simply as ornaments, rather than symbols ofChristian belief. This one was made in about 1800-1810 by the silversmithCharles Arnoldi (1779-1817) of Montréal. Arnoldi worked as a clockmaker aswell as a silversmith: colonial craftsmen often practiced more than one craft orbusiness to survive financially. The Cross of Lorraine is in Sigmund Samuel Galleryof Canada.

…Anne Thackray

5All images above courtesy of the ROM

CARIBOU SKIN COAT FROM QUEBEC/LABRADOR

Caribou was the mainstay of life in the Sub-Arctic as it provided for all of life’snecessities: flesh for food; bones and antlers for tools and weapons; skin forclothing and shelter. Hunting was a holy occupation and therefore the hunt itselfwas approached with careful attention and ritual. The making and wearing of acaribou skin coat was important, as the coat was worn to venerate the caribouand guarantee a successful hunt.

This garment shows the influence of European coats which had been given toNative people since the 1600’s but the very complex patterns, which wouldgive Native men special powers, were given to them in dreams. The womenwould then execute these major art creations using colours derived from naturalpigments. The paint was applied with tools made from the bones and antlers ofthe caribou.

A gusset in every coat, shaped like a mountain peak, represented the “Magic Mountain” where theLord Caribou lived and from where the caribou were released to give themselves to the hunter. Themagic power was considered lost at the end of the season, so the coat was no longer of value andcould be sold or traded.

This caribou coat can be found in the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples.

…Betty Stein

TAGISH LAKE METEORITE

Possibly the world’s most fascinating time capsule, the Tagish LakeMeteorite fell onto the surface of Tagish Lake in British Columbia onJanuary 18, 2000 and was found in many pieces by an amateurgeologist named Jim Brook. He had witnessed the fiery explosion in thesky beforehand. He had the presence of mind to handle the pieces withgloves and to keep the pieces frozen; many are still frozen for futurestudy. The ROM is fortunate to have one thawed specimen on display inthe Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth’s Treasures.

The meteorite is an unassuming, small and dark piece of rock but itssecrets are remarkable. Scientists believe that its constituents may derive from material that wasconsolidated during the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago and may one day revealanswers about its beginnings. It is already known that this ancient specimen contains some of theoldest and most primitive organic compounds from that time.

…Eva Cunningham

PAUL KANE POSTERS

Four posters called the “Canoe Series” of Kane’s paintings are for sale in the ROM shop: “A Sketch onLake Huron,” “Fishing by Torch Light,” “French River Rapids” and “Encampment: River Winnipeg.” Allare from the original oil paintings on canvas included in Kane’s Wanderings of an Artist Among theIndians of North America, first published in 1859.

There is also a special exhibition of Paul Kane’s paintings, “The First Brush,” in the Daphne CockwellGallery of Canada: First Peoples.

100 Queen's Park | Toronto, Ontario | M5S 2C6 | 416.586.5700 | membership@rom.on.ca | www.rom.on.ca

ADOPT-A-CANADIAN JOURNAL

Journals are vital for the support of the ROM collections and research by its curators and for use bystudents. Subscription costs are increasing every year. For that reason, the “Adopt-a-Journal” programwas launched to help defray costs.

The ROM Library has benefitted significantly from your support in the past. Again, we’re including alist of the journals up for adoption this year. Contributors are acknowledged with a small plaque onthe journal rack in the ROM Library.

To make a contribution, check the journal you wish to adopt on the inserted page, and send yourcheque made out to the “Adopt-a-Journal Programme, ROM,” along with the marked insertto:

Malika Mendez, FCC/ACC Treasurer,Department of Museum Volunteers,Royal Ontario Museum,100 Queen’s Park,Toronto,Ontario,M5S 2C6.

Thanks for your support.

Looking Ahead .....

Watch for our Canadian domestic silver ID Clinic and workshop, October 20, 2014 with DorotheaBurstyn, Philip Cheong and Richard Flensted-Holder

FCC/ACC 2014/2015 Board of Directors

The following have been nominated to the FCC/ACC Board of Directors for the upcoming year. Votingwill take place during the very brief meeting scheduled just prior to the festival of song and story onMay 28.

Chair

Dorothea BurstynPast Chair

Liz Muir

Secretary

Betty Stein

Treasurer

Malika Mendez

Canadian Galleries Rep

Eva Cunningham

Member-at-large

Pat Haug

Member-at-large

Jean Read

Member-at-large

Anne Thackray

Member-at-large

Elizabeth Walter

Newsletter Editor

TBA