At almost every antique show, in every historical society house,
and perhaps nestled in a trunk in an attic, one finds an old bowl
or cup made out of what appears to be some special kind of wood.
The object is a "treen," or a "small domestic wooden artifact,"
as Steven Powers explains. And the wood is "burl" - "the rounded
knotty growth on a tree."
As Powers tells us in this eminently readable and informative
text, ". . . burls in North America were abundant, cheap, and a
practical resource, ... it can be said with assurance that they
[colonists] learned of the use of burl and its practical
applications from the native New England Indians, for whom it was
a centuries-old tradition."
Powers then goes on to recount how significant burl treen was to
early American settlers - it was even listed in wills and daily
accounts kept by settlers who valued its strength and beauty and
often passed their treenware down through families, listed with
other valued objects.
Once he has firmly established the intrinsic significance of burl
treen, Powers then provides a primer on methods of manufacturing,
species of burl, surface, dating, cataloging, and perhaps most
importantly, the faking of antique American burl treen -
especially effigy bowls.
After regaling the reader with the history and variety of burl
treen, Powers then begins to show example after example of
impressive treen. Divided into sections by manufacturer or
material, Powers provides deeply detailed photographs of more
than 170 different objects made from burl: from simple bowls to
effigy ladles and heads carved by Native Amer-icans to corner
shelves and mortar and pestles. The photography is excellent and
Powers has called upon his own collection as well as other
private and public collections including the historic objects
from Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts.
He even gives one example of the quest he took to purchase and
then discover the heritage of a maple burl sugar bowl that was
deaccessioned from a San Francisco museum. His quest led him deep
into the intricacies of genealogy before finally tracing the
origins of the piece.
Southern New England ash burl human effigy bowl, circa
1660-1700 or earlier. The face's carving is direct and sublime.
This is not just a book about burl treen; it is evidence of
one man's love of and fascination (obsession?) with the beautiful
objects made by our ancestors from the rounded knotty growth of a
tree. Powers created this book to fill in the blank for collectors
and dealers. He claims no academic specialty but rather, he has
approached it as a specialist dealer, although the evidence of
scholarship abounds.
He collected and categorized the pieces using his own expertise
and methods. He then prepared the book to satisfy what he views
as paramount for his audience: "large, well detailed images" in a
design that is accessible in "layout, photography and language."
He has more than accomplished his goals, he has given us a
fascinating as well as beautiful book that is also highly
informative and easy to use. He anticipates some challenges to
his attributions, but one can only marvel at this exhaustive
monograph.
North American Burl Treen, Colonial & Native
American, by Steven S. Powers, published by S. Scott Powers
Antiques, 360 Court Street #28, Brooklyn, NY 11231; 2005, 208
pages, hardbound, $125.
