Creation Date

1931 – 1955

Description

"This 2 1/4 inch basket with cover in natural colored grass has two cerise lines running around the basket and a symbol of the tribe in green on the cover. One of the typical natural designs used by the Neah Bay Indians--the drake--is also worked into the sides of the basket. This basket is the finest Neah Bay basket in the collection. It was made and given to me by Katie Colfax Hunter, a full blood Neah Bay, Wash., Indian from the Macah reservation. The black in the basket is maiden-hair fern, and the base is started with cedar bark. Other materials used by the Neah Bay Indians are willow root, manzanita and cedar root. Mrs. Hunter without question is the finest basket maker of the tribe. Neah Bay is in the most Northwest corner of the United States."

Makah Baskets. The base of the basket is made of cedar bark and the body of the basket is woven of very fine mountain grass. Popular motifs include the drake duck and the whale, as the Makah are whalers. The black designs are made with maiden hair fern. The other colors in the design are made with dyed grass.
There are 28 rows of 20 stitches per inch.