Basket Item Number: 2911/16 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Rectangular-oval basket with two handles attached along the long edges. Basket is made of cedar wood slats wrapped with cedar root. The basket flares slightly toward the top edge, and is decorated on the long sides with dark red, black and light brown imbrication in diagonal lines, as well as a dark red imbricated base. The basket is topped on the sides with three rows of decorative looping in a loose diamond pattern. Each side culminates in a long wrapped semicircular handle.

Narrative

Lutia Bidin was the mother of the donor, Rina Honderich. The Bidins had immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s, and moved from Deroche, BC to Woodfibre, BC c. 1918. Rina remembered women from Squamish canoeing over to Woodfibre to trade with her mother. Her mother would trade things like knitted socks, clothing and mats that she had made, for baskets that the Squamish women had made. Each would make a pile and when both sides agreed the exchange would take place. The baskets were used during the daily life of the family.

Item History

What

Name
Basket
Identification Number
2911/16
Type of Item
basket
Material
cedar wood, cedar root, cherry bark and grass
Overall
height 21.3 cm, width 35.5 cm, depth 21.5 cm

Who

Culture
Coast Salish: Squamish
Previous Owner
Lutia Bidin and Rina Honderich
Received from
Rina Honderich (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Squamish, British Columbia, Canada ?
Collected in
Woodfibre, British Columbia, Canada

When

Collection Date
between 1918 and 1955
Ownership Date
before July 25, 2011
Acquisition Date
on July 25, 2011

Other

Item Classes
basketry
Condition
fair
Accession Number
2911/0016