Ethnology Collection - 19th-Century Doll Diorama – Mi’kmaw Couple

“The Original Pictou County Homemakers”

This is the only piece in our collection known to have been produced specifically for museum display by the Mi’kmaq. The diorama was made by unknown artisans from the Pictou Landing Mi’kmaq First Nation Community in the late 1800s. In it, you can find many of the traditional materials used and objects made by Mi’kmaw artisans of the time. Look for wood splints, birch bark, glass beads, baskets, a peaked hat, moccasins and more. The diorama was made for, and initially displayed by, the Greenhill Museum in Pictou County. In the mid-1960s, the diorama was catalogued with this whimsical label: “The Original Pictou County Homemakers – Micmac”.