Object name: Mortar basket / Donor: Samuel A. Barrett / Culture or time period: Wailaki - Hearst Museum Portal Search Results

Start Over Object name Mortar basket Donor Samuel A. Barrett Culture or time period Wailaki

Hearst Museum object titled Mortar basket, accession number 1-12094, described as Mortar basket; grimy from usage. Hoop lashed with buckskin to inside of edge to form rim; another hoop lattice-twined to outside approximately 4 cm from bottom edge. Mainly plain twining; 3-strand twining only occurs from bottom to lower hoop, then next row above. At 2.5-4.5 cm below top is one row of 3-strand twining, then 2 plain rows below; this repeats and ends with a 3-strand twined row. At 10-13 cm below rim is one 3-strand row alternating twice with a plain row and ending with a 3-strand row. Two tags: "Wailkaki". Per Ralph Shanks: Twined mortar hopper basket, used, with food residue. The start has been removed. The warps are a peeled shoot, possibly willow; the wefts are conifer root with no overlay. There is leather lashing at the rim and two large reinforcing rods. From the base there is three strand twining, variably over one to two warps, followed by a lattice twined reinforcing rod on the exterior, followed by one row of three strand twining, followed by 2 inches of plain twining, followed by three alternating plain and three strand twining weft rows, followed by 2 1/4 inches of plain twining, followed by three rows of three strand twining alternating with two weft rows of plain twining, followed by plain twining for 1-2 inches to the rim, which is closely trimmed. There is a reinforcing rod lashed on with buckskin on the interior of the rim. The lashing is in typical southern Humboldt Athabaskan style. There has been a small additional rod added in at one side of the rim. The basket has an exterior workface, with a rightward work direction, and an up to the right slant of weft twist. The basket undulates.

Hearst Museum object titled Mortar basket, accession number 1-12072, described as Mortar basket, grimy from usage. End of rim hoop now secured by buckskin thong. White overlay designs in horizontal bands. From top: connected diamonds, zigzag, chevrons, and two dotted bands. 2-faced overlay. Large hoop sewn on inside to form rim lower hoop lattice-stitched to outside approximately 7 cm from bottom. Mostly plain weave; one row of 3-strand twining at the bottom, then 3 rows plain, 4 rows 3-strand, 3 rows plain, 3 rows 3-strand, 3 rows plain, hoop, then all plain twining above. Tags "Wailaki". Tag "1005" stapled to basket. Per Ralph Shanks: Twined mortar hopper basket with flaring sides, used. The start is missing. The diameter of the hole is 5.5 inches. The warps are peeled shoots. The wefts are conifer root and a design overlay of beargrass. The basket starts with two rows of three strand twining, followed by three rows of plain twining, followed by four rows of three strand twining, followed by three rows of plain twining, followed by three rows of three strand twining, followed by one row of lattice twining with one rod, followed by plain twining to the rim. The rim has a small area of exposed warps followed by two rows of plain twining, sometimes over two warps. Through this gap the wrapping for the reinforcing rod is threaded. A leather strap is wrapped on one edge. The design is in horizontal bands: two bands of checkered beargrass, followed by a band of chevrons, followed by a band of zigzags, followed by a band of diamonds. The overlay is irregularly double-sided, with the main design on the exterior. The basket undulates. There is an up to the right slant of weft twist and a rightward work direction, with an exterior workface.

Hearst Museum object titled Mortar basket, accession number 1-12120, described as Mortar basket with Yuki mending at bottom. Grimy from use. Twined basket has been repaired by rude coiling and sewing, at lower hoop and below. Parallel horizontal bands of white 2-faced overlay; top one zig-zagging parallelograms; below, a zig-zag design with zig-zag edges. A hoop has been stitched to the inside of the rim, re-sewn in one spot; one row of 3-strand twining shows just below the hoop. Tags: "Wailaki". Per Ralph Shanks: Twined mortar hopper basket with coiled repairs at base, used. For the twining: The warps are a peeled shoot. The wefts are conifer root with bear grass overlay designs. The twining is all plain twining except directly below the rim where there is one weft row of three strand twining followed by two rows of diagonal twining, mostly concealed under the rim wrapping. There is a reinforcing rod attached at the rim with wrapping of peeled and unpeeled shoot. The basket has an exterior workface, with a rightward work direction, and an up to the right of weft twist. The weft overlay is primarily on the exterior, with irregular overlay on the interior. The basket undulates. For the coiling at the base: There is a reinforcing rod lattice twined at the uppermost two coils, where the twining starts. The coils are made up first of splints and later on rods. The weft materials are primarily peeled redbud. The stitches are non-interlocking; with no split stitches on the workface, with a few split stitches on the back face. The workface is on the exterior, and the work direction is to the right, with a down to the right slant of weft twist.