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Coiled basket tray with triangular geometric designs / Unknown

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Curatorial Remarks

The stacked rod coil construction is very specific to Mescalero people in the southwest. Woven of yucca. The difference in color is the darker color is green yucca and the lighter yucca is white yucca. Over time the green yucca loses its color and fades to different shades of brown. Mescalero baskets were not as commercially successful due to the brittle nature of the yucca and flakes off. They are not as durable as willow that is used by the Western Apache or the sumac used by the Jicarilla.

People: Mescalero Apache
Places: Southwest, Central New Mexico
Purpose: domestic use, commercial use

From interviews with Dr. Garrick Bailey, 2018-2020 University of Tulsa, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

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©Gilcrease Museum
Title(s): 
Coiled basket tray with triangular geometric designs
Creator(s): 
Unknown
Culture: 
Native American; Apache, Mescalero (artist and user)
Date: 
circa 1900
Materials/Techniques: 
yucca
Classification: 
Ethnographic Objects
Object Type: 
Basket
Credit Line: 
Gift of the Leland Shumway Estate
Accession No: 
71.664
Previous Number(s): 
TL1969; 7137.664; 24880
Department: 
Anthropology
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