Basket
ClassificationsFurnishings-Accessories-baskets
Culture
Pima
Made AtArizona, United States, North America
MediumWillow, tule and devil's claw fiber
Dimensions3 1/2 × 16 3/4 in. (8.9 × 42.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Mary J. Newland
Object number20279
DescriptionThe Pima, Papago and the Apache of southern Arizona make similar basketry trays, distinguished from one another less by design than by the structural manufacture of the baskets. Whereas the Apache use willow rods as the foundation for their weaving, the Pima tend to use grass, making their trays far more flexible. The Pima are well-known for never using dyes in their weavings, the darker sections are most likely made with devil’s claw. The lighter color seen here relative to the darker color of the devil’s claw used by the Papago result from the differences in cultivation between the two groups. The meandering patterns of the bowl appear to be a variation of the popular Pima vortex design. Though ethnographers originally assumed that the design represented rivers feeding into a lake, the dark circle at the center of the tray actually represents a spring at the center of the earth from which all water flows outwards.On View
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