Hopi Flat Wicker Salakomana Doll by Mildred Albert [SOLD]

This Third Mesa wicker basket was created by Hopi weaver Mildred Albert.  It’s a wonderful, colorful depiction of the Salakomana katsina.  Albert’s Salakomana is made of bright white, yellow, red and green, with touches of purple and detail lines in bold black.  Albert’s weaving is tight and precise, and the structural design—a nearly rectangular form emerging from the flat side of a half circle—is excellent.

Third Mesa wicker baskets of this style are essentially flat katsina dolls, made as presents for Hopi children.

This basket is featured on page 35 (see just below) of Gregory Schaaf’s American Indian Baskets 1: 1,500 Artist Biographies.

Mildred Abert is a Hopi basket weaver.  She is a Sun Clan member who has been making wicker baskets and plaited sifters since the 1960s.  She is a resident of Hotevilla, Arizona, and her preferred designs are Katsinam.

Condition: this Hopi Flat Wicker Salakomana Doll by Mildred Albert is in good condition

Provenance: from the large collection of Allan Nelson, an avid Native American art collector.  Purchased directly from the artist.

Relative Links: Hopi Pueblo, Native American Baskets, Mildred Albert, Hopi Third Mesa Basket Maker, Hopi Pueblo Katsina - Kachina Dolls

Reference and Recommended Reading: 

• Hopi Basket Weaving: Artistry in Natural Fibers, Helga Teiwes

• Circles of Life: Katsina Imagery on Hopi Basketry, Judith W. and Andrew D. Fingers

• American Indian Baskets 1: 1,500 Artist Biographies, Gregory Schaaf

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