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Papago made early 1900's yucca and devil's claw hand woven pictorial basket
$ 208.56
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Description
Tohono O’odham Papago hand woven antique basket with pictorial. Details:7 inch circumference - 3 inches high
a nice example of Tohono O’odham (Papago) basket weaving
from the early 20th century (unknown exact age) but before 1930's purchased in Arizona by myself years ago
From the details shown you can see the pattern of pictorial
basket shows some wear from use on the bottom and rim with some sections of missing plant matter - yucca ( see pictures)
Papago ( the old name) were close relatives to the Pima and inhabit the central Sonoran Desert of Arizona
Papago often traded with the Pima to the north for willow material and weavers used devil’s claw to form the dark design elements on baskets, (in this case trim and cacti) gathered in the desert or cultivated in warmer months.
it does remain difficult to distinguish between older Pima and Papago baskets because of the proximity of the tribes, intermarriage, and trading of materials.
plants used by the Pima and the Papago were often different but the manufacture of the basket “start” was always similar
Both employed a four-square or plaited knot. This basket shows a wonderful start knot
plant bundles were wrapped around this start and stitched together with various fibers
Weavers of both tribes wove firm, watertight baskets. I would not call this one water tight and would suggest not putting this to the test
in mid-1880s railroads were built tourists began traveling to the Southwest & a cash market for Papago-Tohono O’odham baskets developed.
In the early 1900s Papago weavers replaced willow with yucca, more readily available and easier to work with and other designs, forms, and open-stitch techniques were developed for the tourist trade. ( This basket, my guess, was likely made for the tourist trade)