Gift Basket (c. 1895): Art, History and Details

Gift Basket (c. 1895) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Although this basket probably was not made for native use, the feathered basket is based on an older type that was exchanged among natives as a treasured gift on such occasions as ceremonies that marked the stages of life. The feathers and shell beads are symbols of prestige and wealth.

Object facts

• Title: Gift Basket
• Date: c. 1895
• Culture: California, Pomo, late 19th- early 20th century
• Type: Basketry
• Technique: Bulrush, Sedge with Mallard and Meadowlark Feathers, and clam shells; Coiled (3 rods)
• Dimensions: Diameter: 12.1 x 4.5 cm (4 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.)
• Collection: AA - Native North America
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1917.523

Collection credit

Presented by William Albert Price in memory of Mrs. William Albert Price

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 4 (1917): 64-67.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.