ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Date Made

Place Made

Date Collected

Date Owned

Owner

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Source

Measurements

Item Classes

Condition

Current Location

Accession Number

Cultural Context

made for sale

Description

Oval-shaped basket (a) with a raised, fitted lid (b). Sharp shouldered with oval collared rim. Rim is reinforced strips of cedar bark edged with a row of grass twining. Natural colour with purple and green bands with orange stripes. The raised top of the lid has oval green centre with orange oval band surrounded by four oval rings of purple and two broken line rings of orange. At midpoint the basket has three bands of purple. The middle and widest band has a yellow diagonal design. At base of basket is green band with orange stripe. Bottom of basket is cedar bark plaiting surrounded by grass twining. There is one row of grass twining up the middle length of the plaiting, and one row of twill twine at shoulder and base.

History Of Use

Before European contact Nuu-chah-nulth baskets were predominately undecorated, all-purpose containers. Checkerwork bags and pouches were used for whaling and fishing gear. Finely woven baskets held liquids and were used to boil food by adding heated stones. By the mid-19th century, when missions and trading posts were well established on the Northwest Coast, the manufacture of functional basketry declined and the Nuu-chah-nulth began to make small decorated 'fancy' baskets for sale. These baskets are characterized by realistic and less frequently, geometric designs. Up to the 1890's Nuu-chah-nulth basketry is open wrapped twined, checkerwork and plain twilled. After this date most are close wrapped twined.