Basket

Date1850-1870 (probably)

OriginAmerica, Connecticut or Massachusetts or New York (probably)

MediumWood splints, probably black ash; legs, pine; pigments, distemper

DimensionsOverall: 7 1/4 x 19 x 12 3/4in. (18.4 x 48.3 x 32.4cm)

Credit LineGift of Miss Mary Allis

Object number1973.708.4

DescriptionA rectangular basket with rounded corners and four pine legs inserted at corners, each about 5 1/4-inches long. A small (2" x 5" x 3 1/4") basket is attached to the upper rim of one end of the larger basket. The larger basket has handles woven into each of the short sides. Fourteen narrow wefts form the mid-section of the body of the larger basket, and there is also a single narrow weft (now largely missing) woven through the very bottom edge. The larger basket's wide warps and wefts were painted after weaving with, respectively, red and yellow. A strawberry-like motif was then painted on the warps in the top section and a flower bloom on the wefts in the bottom section. These motifs appear to have been applied freehand.

Artist unidentified.
Label TextBased on its materials, surface decoration, and splint configurations, this appealing two-handled basket-on-legs is believed to have been made by a native American, probably a member of the Stockbridge tribe living in the Berkshire Mountain range (n. 1). Among native-made woodsplint baskets, the inclusion of legs or feet is relatively uncommon and reflects the influence of white culture (n. 2)--which is not surprising, since the basket itself likely was made for sale or trade to the Anglo-American community.

Faced with encroaching white settlements and forced onto lands where, in some cases, even a marginal subsistence existence was impossible, northeastern native Americans increasingly relied on the sale or barter of their handicrafts in order to eke out a living in the growing cash economy of the second half of the nineteenth century. Commercially-produced pigments were in general use by this period; thus, finished, decorated baskets often were swapped for the paints needed to embellish a new supply, or a part trade/part cash arrangement was made (n. 3).

After this basket was assembled, its wide warps and wefts were given ground coats of red and yellow, respectively, while a center band of fourteen narrow wefts was left unpainted, as was the single narrow weft (now largely missing) at the very bottom.

The repetitiveness of the "strawberry" and flower bloom motifs laid on the warps at the top and on the wefts at the bottom (and the occasional build-up of paint along the edges of these elements) have led to supposition that these designs were stenciled or stamped in place. Stamp decorating was sometimes practiced by native American basket-makers, but deviations among individual motifs seem to indicate that the examples on this basket were applied freehand.

The arrangement of one container fixed within a larger one is typical of sewing baskets and boxes, where it can be helpful to segregate small miscellaneous items and sharp tools. This basket may have served as a sewing accessory, but it might equally well have filled a variety of other functions.

ProvenanceOwnership prior to Mary Allis (see "Donor") is unknown.