Posted 7 years ago
gotwire
(79 items)
Huge Native American feast basket. Measures 29" across and is 8" deep. I thought it was an Apache basket but have heard it might be Navajo /Ute. It's really too big for the space it's in to display it properly.
It's extremely unlikely that it's Navajo. Despite the popular misconception, Navajo women, until recently, made virtually no baskets, since there were so many taboos and cultural restrictions on their production. The few that they made were limited to their traditional wedding basket design, and even then, the majority needed for rituals and ceremonies were made for them by Utes and Paiutes. And this doesn't resemble Paiute or Ute basketry.
It's definitely not Yavapai.
As to Apache tribes, the Western Apache (San Carlos), Mescalero, and Jicarilla made baskets, but only the Jicarilla used a type of braided rim finish and colors (the green especially) like this. But they also used a 3- or 5-rod construction technique, and this appears to be a bundle coil.
So what is it? My guess, based on the photos, is an import, possibly from Pakistan, known for making "Native American inspired" designs. Either that or Jicarilla Apache, but the materials (too thin and shiny), and the technique, don't look quite right...unless it's the photo.