A Hopi wicker plaque c.1940 featuring a cloud design in very good condition. This basket was kept from sunlight, which helped protect its beautiful colors. Slight fading. Size 13 3/8".
The
People of the Mesas are the Hopi. First Mesa, Second Mesa and Third Mesa with 9
villages located on these three Mesas. The Village of Old Oraibi has the
distinction of being the oldest town in the United States that has been
continuously occupied.
Basket
making is an essential component of traditional Hopi culture and remains so
even today. Baskets are essential to the Hopi and their traditional way of
life. Besides being used as a utility, baskets have many social and ceremonial
functions within the Hopi culture. There are two principal kinds of baskets:
wickers, which are made on the Third Mesa and coils, which come from Second
Mesa villages. Coils are considered sturdier and harder to make than wickers,
which have a pleasing texture to their slightly open pattern. Kachina images
and other figures, command higher prices and more attention. The wickers are
made from wild currant and rabbit brush and the coils from yucca and galleta
grass.
