An Attu Polychrome Twined Basket . c. 1900...

Description

An Attu Polychrome Twined Basket
c. 1900

wild rye grass, worsted wool

"Attuan women were renowned for their clothlike basketry, producing some of the finest baskets in the world (14 - 15 stitches/cm). Wild rye grass (Elymus mollis) was the preferred raw material. Grasswork was an ancient craft in the treeless Aleutian region and was used for many articles, including mats, mitts, socks, and sewing kits. Baskets of this type, however, have not been found in archaeological sites and seem to have originated in Attu in the 19th century," (Black, 1982 in Fitzhugh, William and Aron Crowell, Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., 1988, p. 56.

Provenance:
Private West Coast Collection

Height: 7 ¼ inches overall

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