Wedding Basket

About the Art

A Wedding Basket would be used during many sacred ceremonies, with corn meal or pollen placed inside it. The circular band within the design represents the hills and valleys of the world and the underworld. The break in the band is called shipapu, which represents the place of communication between the two worlds. This basket was made with the coiling method, a widespread Native American basketry technique. It is considered a sewn rather than woven technique: a rigid horizontal element remains stationary, while a vertical, flexible element of leaves or roots, is moved and positioned by the maker.

FEATURED IMAGE
Artist(s) unknown (Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, Diné (Navajo) people), Wedding Basket, early 20th century, sumac, yucca leaf, woven rush, 3 x 14 x 14 inches. Gift of Dr. Eleanora J. Everhard and Dr. Gertrude Felker, 1946.52.2