Object details
Accession number
U11n12.a-b
Primary Creator
Native American
Full title
Basket (possibly Makah, Quinault, or Quileute)
Creation Date
19th century
Provenance
Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her travels through the American West in 1881.
Dimensions
5.4 x 10.5 cm (2 1/8 x 4 1/8 in.)
Display Media
Woven grass and cedar bark with painted textile
Web Commentary
This small basket was made by an Indigenous American weaver from the Makah, Quinault, or Quileute tribes on the Olympic Peninsula in present day Washington State. Similarities among weaving styles from this region include basket size and shape, weave structure, and decoration—like the band of blue birds in the mid-center wall.
Made for a tourist market, it is possible Isabella purchased the basket on her trip across the American West in 1881. She displayed it on her desk in the Macknight Room, along with other objects of personal significance.
Permanent Gallery Location
Macknight Room
Rights and reproductions
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