Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

CAS Anthropology Collections Database


Catalog Number

CAS 0370-0903   CAS 0370-0903; 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. 1920-1930
Collection Name Elkus Collection (Native American)
Materials Sumac (Rhus sp.) stems; Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.) stems; Yucca (Yucca angustissima) leaves; Vegetal dyes
Description Round nearly flat plaque with domed center, woven entirely in wicker technique over multiple warps; Basket start shows a technique that was seldom used later than ca. 1930; Warp material is probably sumac stems and weft material is natural and vegetal dyed rabbitbrush stems; At the rim, one warp stem from each group of warps is bent over and incorporated into a bundle that is coil-wrapped in dyed black yucca leaves; Design consists of a single complete figure of a butterfly with outstretched wings, whose negative body is golden brown and whose wings in alternate segments of blue-black and blue-black with natural colored sections, all on pale blue colored background; Narrow band of alternating green and orange blocks, edged in black, encircles rim of plaque.
Dimensions (cm) Thickness = 2.9, Max Diam = 30.2