Forest Baby

Item number Nbz834 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Cedar bark basket (part a) and lid (part b) with white grass and black-dyed cedar bark accents. The square base of the basket and the top of the lid are woven with checker board plaiting. The plaited areas are outlined with double strand twining. The walls of the basket are plaited with a row of twining separating each row of plaiting from the next. The visible vertical elements are overlayed with grass and dyed bark in an alternating black and white pattern. Three horizontal rows are overlayed at the top of the basket also (black, white, black). The lid (part b) has a decorative edge that features a row of triple strand twining in black dyed cedar bark. It is followed by plaiting that is overlayed with the white grass. The lid has a dome-shaped appearance. The assembled basket resembles an acorn in shape.

Cultural Context

basketry; contemporary art

Specific Techniques

Checker board plaiting was used for the base and lid of the basket. Plaiting and double strand twining were used to weave the walls. Triple strand twining was used on the lid as an accent. Some of the warps and wefts were overlayed with other materials to introduce other colours. The black elements are cedar bark that was dyed using natural dyes.

Narrative

Rena Bolton made this basket in Terrace, where she lives with her husband Tsimshian carver Cliff Bolton. She notes of the forest baby baskets: "those are Tsimshian, both of them. This is the type of weave I learned after I moved to the north. I did 15 years research work on the Tsimshian weaving. I started in 1970. I worked along with the people in Victoria [the RBCM]; they allowed me to pick some of their old pieces apart so I could see how they were put together, because I hadn't a clue about how the Tsimshian weaving was done." She adds that she calls baskets of this style "forest babies" because they resemble acorns. She notes: "The little ones that I made, they looked just like great big acorns. I thought this looks like a seed from a tree, and seeds of course are babies. So I thought I'll call it a forest baby."