Havasupai Pictorial Basket Bowl [SOLD]

According to Whiteford, the Hualapai and Havasupai were a single culture from prehistoric times until 1882, at which time the U. S. Government designated those separate tribes and gave them different reservations. The Havasupai live in the fertile valley of a tributary of the Grand Canyon, where they enjoy a settled agricultural life.

Baskets were the Havasupai's most important domestic utensil. They made baskets of every shape imaginable. Because of their isolation, they continued to make traditional baskets into the 1930s without outside influence. The arrival of eastern visitors to the Southwest and the development of a market for native goods affected the Havasupai as well as other tribes.

This basket has been identified as Havasupai rather than Western Apache based on the facts that there is not black material at the start of the basket or around the rim.  Western Apache baskets would have both of these items.

The Havasupai call themselves "Havasu 'Baaja." Currently the tribe is comprised of about 650 enrolled tribal members and only approximately 450 of them live in Supai. The native language, Havasupai, is their preferred way to communicate. It has been a written language for only about 20 years.

Condition: This is a beautiful example of a well-woven basket. The design is still very visible and the basket is in remarkably good condition considering its age (circa 1930s). There are very few missing stitches and they are mostly confined to the ending stitches of the rim. There is a small nail hole in the center of the basket.

Provenance: ex. coll. Albuquerque collector