A Traditional Quill Decorated Storage Box Made by Mariah Blake

A Traditional Quill Decorated Storage Box Made by Mariah Blake

CLA artist Mariah Blake has crafted a traditional Native American piece for the auction, a quill decorated birch bark storage box. This beautiful little lidded box is completely decorated with red, white and blue dyed porcupine quills. To do it, she patiently anchored the ends of each hand dyed quill into a tiny hole bored into the birch bark, creating a classic chevron pattern as she worked. The lid is similarly decorated and even its edge is fully wrapped in quills. Surviving original decorated boxes like this are very scarce, and contemporary pieces made in this style are equally rare. The CLA 2012 Live Auction committee is proud to have this special donation included in its offerings.