Basket

Artist/Culture Pomo

Date1800s

Mediumwoven and dyed plant material, feathers, beads, string

Dimensions6.4 x 14.9 cm (2 1/2 x 5 7/8 in.)

ClassificationsCanework

Credit LineGift of David Hale Fanning

Terms

Object number1922.94

DescriptionDark brown on tan ground, black feathers, white beads with blue centers. String and bead handle.Label TextFor centuries, diverse Indigenous tribes in the American West and Southwest produced baskets out of locally harvested plant materials. Made by women, these items were used in daily life for storage, food preparation, and gift exchange. Notwithstanding such utilitarian functions, the artists incorporated complex decorations into their baskets to express their technical skill and spiritual beliefs. For example, the whirling disk pattern in the Tohono O'odham basket represents the energy of the universe.

White settlement, which began in 1769 with the first Spanish mission in present-day San Diego and accelerated rapidly after the 1848 Gold Rush, decimated Native populations throughout the region. To survive, Indigenous artists made baskets for non-Native market, providing a vital source of income as well as cultural continuity for generations-old artistic traditions.ProvenanceOwnership history unknown. David Hale Fanning, Worcester, MA; to Worcester Art Museum, 1922

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