Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

CAS Anthropology Collections Database


Catalog Number

CAS 0370-0890   CAS 0370-0890; Basket plaque
Category Basketry
Object Name Basket plaque
Culture Hopi
Global Region North America
Country USA
State/Prov./Dist. Arizona
County Navajo
Other Geographic Data Hopi Indian Reservation; Third Mesa
Maker's Name Unknown
Date of Manufacture ca. early 1900s
Collection Name Elkus Collection (Native American)
Materials Sumac (Rhus sp.) stems; Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus sp.) stems; Yucca (Yucca angustissima) leaves; Vegetal and aniline (?) dyes
Description Square and nearly flat wicker plaque with rounded corners, woven entirely in wicker technique over multiple warps; Warp material is sumac stems and weft material is dyed rabbitbrush stems; Basket start consists of 2 groups of 11 warp bundles each, woven and then laid across each other at right angles and additional warps added at corners; At the rim, one warp stem from each group of warps is bent over and incorporated into a bundle that is coil-wrapped with undyed yucca leaves; Design on plaque depicts a single full-figure katsina (probably a simplified version of Shalako Mana), whose face shows a terraced inverted "V" motif; She wears a pale green cape with orange and green belt (?), and a tableta with alternating black and natural colored center, flanked by red, orange, yellow, blue, and green along sides, all on pale green background; Narrow band of orange dashes on black background encircles rim; On reverse, katsina’s head is a plain golden brown color.
Dimensions (cm) Thickness = 4.0, Max Diam = 45.7