Akimel O'odham, Pima Polychrome Basket with Concentric Petals [SOLD]

Pima basketry design has always mostly been started with a large black circle in the center from which the design expanded. When the center black circle is minimized, as in this basket, the design is more creative and lighter in structure. The design on this basket has the appearance of exploding outward from the bottom four-petal element as ripples of a wave.

Basketry by the Pima Indian women was practiced in every home in 1900, but by 1920, not one woman in ten knew how to weave a credible basket.  By 1935, it was reported that Pima basketry was dying out. Tanner 1983:155

The stitching on this basket is consistently relatively tight, a measure of the talent of the weaver.  It is difficult to place a date on this bowl as it does not exhibit use or significant wear patterns. It was quite likely made in the mid-1930s.

The use of red in a Pima basket is quite rare. Generally, Pima basket makers used only devil's claw for the color in their works. This basket has a significant amount of red. Perhaps the artist was influenced by seeing Apache polychrome baskets and chose to try it on her basket. The result is quite successful leading to an image of perhaps a butterfly or a flower.

Condition: this Akimel O'odham, Pima Polychrome Basket with Concentric Petals is in very good condition with minimal stitch loss.  Rim is in excellent condition

Provenance: from the Native American Basket collection of a Colorado family.

Reference: Tanner, Clara Lee. Indian Baskets of the Southwest, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson. 1983

Relative Links: Akimel O´odham - Pima, Southwest Indian Basketry