When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
RARE! Native American Southwest Olla Water Jar Basket Pine resin Horsehair handles
Not sure if you will find another one for sale. They are very fragileand not many survived.This becketwas on display in a museum. It still has an inventorytag.Please see all 10 high resolution pictures.
Coiled basket water jug pitched in pine resin with horsehair handles and cotton tumpline / Native American; Southwest
Materials/Techniques: grass, pine resin, horsehair, cotton
Description:Olla water jar shaped basket. Pointed bottom. Covered with pitch. Horsehair (braided) lugs with part of cotton tumpline.
Many Indian tribes believe that basket weaving was one of the arts the gods taught to women at the beginning of time; this is understandable because basketry is one of the oldest human arts. The tribes in the Southwest used several different basketry techniques, including wicker, plaiting, and coiling, which was the most widely used. In the pueblo tribes, pottery reduced the need for baskets, though they are still used in ceremonies and rituals; however, the Pima, Papago, and western Apache relied on basketry for storage and transportation (Furst and Furst 1982, 32).
Some of the finest basket weaving came from California Indians, who wove fine, intricate details into their baskets. The women typically coiled or twined the baskets and used materials such as shoots of redbud and willow trees, bear grass, and maidenhair fern stems. Each community, however, had a different technique, design, and shape, and California had one of the most diverse regions (Bibby 1996).
