Very old burden basket. Quite dirty and worn from use. Two holes stitched up, other cracks. The hoop has been crudely resewn to rim. The bottom 5 cm at the tip have been replaced by rough coiling (the rest of the basket is twined). For 3.5 cm above coiled tip is 3-strand twining. Buckskin strap attached. Basket is conical in shape. Tag: "Wailaki" Per Ralph Shanks: Twined and coiled burden basket, used. Coiled oval start. The basket has a splint coil foundation. On the twined part of the basket the warp material is a peeled shoot, possibly willow; the wefts are conifer root. Starting at the starting knot there is coiling for 2 1/4 inches followed by 1 inch of three strand twining that has some plain twining in the last row of three strand twining, followed by plain twining to the rim. The rim is folded over into the interior of the basket around a reinforcing rod in some areas. The basket somewhat undulates and has a flat surface, probably where it was worn on the back. The twined work direction is to the right, with an exterior workface and up to the right slant of weft twist. The coiling is a rightward direction. The coiled weft twist is down and to the right and the weft fag ends are tucked.
Donor:
Samuel A. Barrett
Collection place:
Round Valley, Mendocino County, California
Verbatim coll. place:
California; Mendocino; Round Valley
Culture or time period:
Wailaki
Collector:
Samuel A. Barrett
Collection date:
July 1907
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Burden baskets, Coiled weaving, and Twined weaving
Function:
1.5 Household
Accession date:
1907
Context of use:
Burden basket.
Department:
Native California (archaeology and ethnology)
Dimensions:
length 36 centimeters and length 63 centimeters
Comment:
Samuel A. Barrett field notes, p. 69: "tot packer Wailaki" Photo: "15-8622" Remarks: "For materials see Supplementary Cat. 1 Page 59