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 ofone man’s love of and fascination (obsession?) with the beautifulobjects made by our ancestors from the rounded knotty growth of atree. Powers created this book to fill in the blank for collectorsand dealers. He claims no academic specialty but rather, he hasapproached it as a specialist dealer, although the evidence ofscholarship 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.