Gift Bowl (c. 1905): Art, History and Details

Gift Bowl (c. 1905) 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 Bowl
• Date: c. 1905
• Culture: California, Pomo, Late 19th- Early 20th century
• Type: Basketry
• Technique: Sedge with mallard, meadowlark, and quail feathers, and shells; coiled (3 rods)
• Dimensions: Overall: 3.5 x 17.5 cm (1 3/8 x 6 7/8 in.)
• Collection: AA - Native North America
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1959.384

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. J. E. Bauerschmidt

Further reading listed by the museum

• Crawford, Virginia. “Artistic Basketry of the North American Indian.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 73, no. 7 (September 1986): 278–297.

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.