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Basketry Bowl

CulturePomo, Central California
Dateca. 1860
MediumWillow shoots, sedge root, redbud bark, quail topknot feathers, and clam shell beads
DimensionsOverall: 13 × 27 inches (33.02 × 68.58 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number31-125/69
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 207
DescriptionVery large circular basket, decorated with feather work and shell beads.Gallery Label
This enormous, tightly woven basket is distinguished by its beautiful surface, richly modulated color and dynamic, swirling pattern that subtly expands and contracts in relation to the curvature of the form. It represents one of the world's greatest basketry traditions, developed by the Pomo peoples of California. Here, baskets were indispensible to every phase of life. They were used for storing material possessions and preparing food, and they were critical elements of religious rituals and every dimension of social life, especially celebrations of birth, puberty, marriage and death. Their creation provided women the opportunity for artistic expression as well as the display of knowledge, industry and technical skills, all of which were highly valued within their communities.
Provenance

Major Edward Johnson Abbott (1870-1948), New York, by 1925 [1];

Purchased at his sale, American Indian Sale including the Fine Collection of Major E. J. Abbott , The Walpole Galleries, New York, March 6, 1925, lot 157, by the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation, New York, no. 137170, 1925-1931 [2];

Transferred from the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation, New York, to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1931 [3].

NOTES:

[1] National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, object documentation, accession lot 1925.0246.

[2] The Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation was founded in 1916 by George Heye (1874-1957) and opened to the public in New York City in 1922. In 1989, the remaining collection was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and became part of the National Museum of the American Indian.

[3] In 1931, the Nelson-Atkins co-sponsored two archaeological expeditions with the Heye Foundation: one to Colombia that was directed by Gregory Mason, and a second to the Orinoco River region of Venezuela, directed by Herbert S. Dickey. The partage agreement between the two institutions specified that if the value of the found objects did not match the dollar amount invested by the Nelson-Atkins, the Heye Foundation would transfer objects from its own collection to the Nelson-Atkins to make up the difference, while also giving the Nelson-Atkins an opportunity to purchase additional objects from the Heye Foundation. When the archaeological excavations failed to meet expectations, this was one of a group of objects that were transferred/purchased from the Heye Foundation’s collection to the Nelson-Atkins.

Published References
Torrence, Gaylord, ed. Continuum: North American Native Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


overall oblique
ca. 1900
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ca. 1923
2018.43.1,2
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