Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Special Exhibit: The Art and Function of the Crooked Knife

Preparations are well under way for the museum's 2011 exhibit, Along the Basket Trail.  Until the exhibit opens in May, we'll take a look at the highly successful 2010 exhibit, The Art and Function of the Crooked Knife, and feature a few of the knives in our collection.

The crooked knife is named for its angled blade and is used by drawing it toward the body. First used in New England by the Indigenous Native Peoples, the original stone or bone blade was replaced with metal when it became available. Early colonists adopted the knives, finding them more practical for many purposes then their own straight edge knives.  Objects made with the knives include canoe parts, basket handles, bowls, bows and the beautifully carved wooden handles of the knives themselves.

Diamonds and Triangles

This knife was made around 1878.  It is made of wood, steel, fiber and lead. The handle ends in a cylinder and has been chip-carved with diamonds and triangles.  There is also a date, which could represent the date it was carved, or the date of a significant event for the carver.  The knife shows many signs of use, such as fine lines and cracks and a fine patina from years of use.  The profile of the blade is evidence of repeated grinding and sharpening.

Gift of Bud and Nancy Thompson

Bone, Spruce Root and Iron

Made by the Athabaskan Indians of Alaska in the 1930s, this knife is made of bone, spruce root and iron.  The blade is formed from two curved pieces of iron, riveted together.  The knife has a curved bone handle.  The blade is held on by spruce root lashing.

Gift of Hope Johnson Miller Leone

Tree of Life

This crooked knife was made of wood, steel and leather some time between 1880 and 1940.  The entire face of this knife’s handle is chip carved with a central “tree of life” design that is found on other Native-made items from Northeastern North America, such as baskets and beadwork.

Gift of Bud and Nancy Thompson

Playing Card Suits

Carved playing card suits and blue paint were a common motif on crooked knives.  The blade on this knife may have originally been a file.  It has been re-sharpened many times.

Gift of Bud and Nancy Thompson

J. A. R.

The handle of this knife is carved from a wood burl.  The carver shaped the end of the handle into a heart and embellished its face with another heart, plants and semi-circles, and the back with the initials J.A.R.  This blade has many curved planes and is designed to be drawn easily in one direction only.  The knife was made of maple, steel and cotton circa 1880 – 1940.

Gift of Bud and Nancy Thompson

A Hand

This distinctive knife was made around 1950 by French-Canadian wood carver and fiddler Omer Marcoux for Bud Thompson.  The Maliseet Indian hand shows fine detail, including fingernails, palm lines and wrist detail.  The blade was originally a file.

Gift of Bud and Nancy Thompson           

A Horse

This crooked knife was also made around 1950 by French-Canadian wood carver and fiddler Omer Marcoux for Bud Thompson.  Marcoux was famous for his carvings of animals, and many fine details are in evidence here.  The blade appears to have been ready-made and has hardly been sharpened.

Anonymous Loan

Photos by Steven Daigle.