Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

CAS Anthropology Collections Database


Catalog Number

CAS 0145-0149   CAS 0145-0149; Basket
Category Basketry
Object Name Basket
Culture Mesquakie
Global Region North America
Country USA
State/Prov./Dist. Illinois
County
Other Geographic Data Great Lakes region
Maker's Name Unknown
Date of Manufacture ca. early 1900s
Collection Name N/A
Materials Ash splints; Sweetgrass; Aniline dye
Description Made-for-sale tourist basket in the shape of a semi-circular disc turned on its edge; Flat, rounded base and ends of basket are woven in plain plaiting technique, using two sets of narrow ash splints for the warp and and wide ash splits (dyed pink) for the weft; The warps are bent at the junction of the base and the sides, with half of them extending up one side and half up the other side; Sides are woven in simple wicker technique, using braided sweetgrass stems for a lower band and single sweetgrass stems for the center area; Band of plaited pink ash slats separate the braided and plain bands on sides; Rim is reinforced with wooden slat on interior and with sweetgrass bundle on exterior, all bound together in widely spaced coiled stitch; Base and sides are decorated with additional pink ash splint that is twisted back and forth to form ribbon curlicues; Elaborate openwork braid of narrow pink ash splints encircles the rim; Pair of short braided sweetgrass carrying handles is attached to upper sides of basket.
Dimensions (cm) Height = 17.2, Width = 7.8, Length = 27.8