Hemispherical, plain twining with maidenhair fern stem overlay decoration, dark brown zigzag band above center on Xerophyllum tenax ground. Lattice twining reinforcing rod below rim. "An anomalous piece in that it has Lassik features of construction but a Klamath R. style design centered on two rows of fine lattice twining." Tag found in basket, apparently from exhibit "Twined mush basket. Lassik. California. Coll. J.C. Merriam". Second tag on basket "Lassik att." Per Ralph Shanks: Twined basket cooking bowl, not used. Crossed warp starting knot, not Northwestern California style. Warps are a peeled shoot, probably willow, and the wefts are conifer root with a beargrass and maidenhair fern overlay. Starting at the starting knot there is three strand twining for 2 1/2 inches, followed by plain twining for 1/4 inch, followed by two weft rows of three strand twining, followed by plain twining for 2 1/4 inches, followed by one weft row of three strand twining, followed by 2 1/4 inches of plain twining, followed by one weft row of lattice twining around a small rod, followed by plain twining for 3/4 inch, followed by one weft row of lattice twining around a small rod, followed by plain twining for 2 1/2 inches, followed by one weft row of three strand twining, followed by one weft row of lattice twining around a large rod, followed by one weft row of three strand twining, followed by three rows of plain twining. The rim is trimmed, with no warp sticks extending beyond the rim. The design is one horizontal band, with beargrass outlining a maidenhair fern zigzag and beargrass two stacked triangles repeating above and below the main band. The basket has an exterior workface. The overlay is on the exterior and interior irregularly. The slant of weft twist is up to the right; the work direction is to the right. The basket slightly undulates. The basket has all of the attributes of a Lassik or Wailaki basket.
Donor:
Phoebe Apperson Hearst
Collection place:
Northwestern California
Verbatim coll. place:
California
Culture or time period:
Lassik
Collector:
John Campbell Merriam
Collection date:
Before 1933
Taxon:
Xerophyllum tenax
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Cooking baskets and Twined weaving
Function:
1.5 Household
Accession date:
1903
Context of use:
Mush boiling container.
Department:
Native California (archaeology and ethnology)
Dimensions:
height 20.5 centimeters and diameter 32.5 centimeters
Comment:
Original museum number. Recataloged from unknown number.