Dance Fan-Quill Crow w/Turkey feathers/birchbark; P St John-Mohawk

Description

A proud CROW of porcupine quill appears to stoically waiting on the birch bark handle of this dance fan. Wild turkey feathers of brown, black and copper are atop the fan. A Wabanaki traditional winding vine design is scraped/etched onto the birchbark. A stunning addition to your regalia or a gorgeous display piece. Scrape work, sometimes called "etching" is made by painstakingly scraping off the top layer of bark to show the contrasting layer below. This is carefully done by the artist to make the design or picture.  Both the front and back of the handle have scrape/etch work (see photos above)
Paul St John, Mohawk (registered tribal member, his father's tribe) has been exploring very early birch bark etchings with help from his nephew who works at the Smithsonian and the Abbe Museums. Paul's mother is Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and MicMac, his nephew Isaac is a registered Maliseet.
This fan is 14" total length and 10" across at widest. The handle is 7.5" long and 5.25" across at widest. Front and back of the birch bark handle are affixed together with tidal sweet grass covering the joining of the the 2 sides. The handle is bordered with yellow dyed porcupine quill. The crow is of all black dyed
quills.  Crow stands on a bit of grass of green dyed quill. The scrape/etched designs are on the front and back of the handle.
Paul St. John lives in Maine near his mother's family.   His mother is Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and MicMac.  He grew up on the Mohawk lands in New York, his father's homeland and is an enrolled Mohawk tribal member.