Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

CAS Anthropology Collections Database


Catalog Number

CAS 0145-0148   CAS 0145-0148; Basket
Category Basketry
Object Name Basket
Culture Nuu-Chah-Nulth (Nootka)
Global Region North America
Country Canada
State/Prov./Dist. British Columbia
County
Other Geographic Data Western Vancouver Island
Maker's Name Unknown
Date of Manufacture unknown (pre-1906)
Collection Name N/A
Materials Cedar (Cedrus sp.) bark; Rye grass (Elymus sp.) stems
Description Narrow but deep rectangular purse or wallet with flat base and vertical sides; Warp material is cedar bark and weft material is rye grass stems; Base of basket is woven in simple plaiting technique, using a single wide cedar bark slat for the warp and a series of narrow cedar bark slats for the weft, which then extend up the sides and continue as warps; Outer edges of base are woven in plain twining technique, using rye grass stems as the weft; Single row of 3-strand twining along junction of base and sides ads structural support; Sides of purse are woven entirely in plain twining technique, using rye grass stems as the weft; Warp fibers are bent over at the rim and bound into the final row of twining; Weft fibers on upper sides of purse are slightly darker than those in other areas of the purse, but this may or may not have been intentional; Purse appears otherwise to have been undecorated.
Dimensions (cm) Height = 11.5, Width = 5.4, Length = 16.4