Friendship Basket (Figures Holding Hands Representing Tribal Unity)
Artist/Culture
Tulare
Artist/Culture
Yokuts
Date1800s
Mediumreeds, dyed red, yellow, brown, and white; flat, round, wound spirally; feathers.
Dimensions34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsCanework
Credit LineGift of David Hale Fanning
Object number1922.39
DescriptionFlat, round, wound spirally. Reeds dyed red, yellow, brown and white. Ceremonial basket - all ceremonial baskets have feathers. Figures holding hands represent tribal unity.Label TextUnlike most California groups, the Yokuts of the San Joaquin Valley were organized into tribes, with a central government and defined territories. The well-designed bands of human figures with linked hands which circle this basket symbolize unity among the tribes. Rings of diamonds are also common in friendship baskets and are believed to refer to rattlesnakes, which are significant in Yokuts mythology. ProvenanceOwnership history unknown. David Hale Fanning, Worcester, MA; to Worcester Art Museum, 1922
On View
Not on view
