Diné Very Old Ceremonial Basket with Utilitarian Wear [SOLD]

This Navajo ceremonial basket predates the period when the Diné settled on a particular pattern as the standard to be used for all ceremonial baskets.  This one shows the beginning of the standard design but has variations that were later dismissed.  

Starting from the center bottom and progressing to the last continuous row of black, there is what became the standard design pattern.  The single row of red, abutting the row of black, is the beginning of change—three to five rows of red became the standard.  

Resting on the single row of red are a series of black gold posts which were not part of the accepted standard design.  Instead of those posts, an identical mirror image section like the black triangles below the red row of weave became standard.

One might wonder why Marti Struever, Santa Fe Indian art dealer and collector, retained in her collection a basket with this amount of rim damage.  The answer is that this is a rare example of early Diné basketry and that seems to have been a particular item of interest to her. If you have followed our previous postings of her Diné basket collection, you would have seen quite a variety of early Diné basket designs.  This is the last one from her estate.

Condition: there is some rim damage and staining that would be expected for a basket of this vintage and use

Provenance: this Diné Very Old Ceremonial Basket with Utilitarian Wear is from the estate of Santa Fe Indian art dealer and collector, Marti Struever

Recommended Reading: Navajo Ceremonial Baskets: Sacred Symbols Sacred Space by Georgiana Simpson

Relative Links: Navajo, Native American Baskets, Marti Struever