140404-01 Hopi Butterfly Pictorial Wicker Basket, c 1950
SKU:
140404-01
$550.00
$550.00
14 1/2" diameter
Hopi wicker tray. A particularly fine example.
Hopi wicker tray. A particularly fine example.
Condition: Minimal damage - a few instances of loosening at rim, very strong colors on both sides though the back side is somewhat bolder and fresher looking as can be expected for an item of this age (front has been exposed to some light and has also collected some very light dust over the years). Currently only the front side is shown in photographs.
Typically displayed as a wall hanging, trays like this were a traditional dance item with the Hopi girls lining up, holding the basket in front of themselves, and all moving the baskets together. In early days, these were often thrown to the crowd in a "give-away" ceremony ... but their high collector value today has greatly reduced that aspect of the ceremony.
Wicker plaques—often colorfully dyed—are popular items among collectors of Hopi arts and crafts. They are used domestically at Hopi to hold foods, including ground corn, corn on the cob, and piki bread, and ceremonially to hold prayer sticks, prayer feathers, and bean sprouts. Wicker plaques figure prominently in Hopi wedding ceremonies and women’s ceremonial dances, and are given away at the Bean Dance and katsina dances. Both geometric forms and more representational imagery woven into wicker plaques bear symbolic significance, conveying important cultural values and beliefs.
Typically displayed as a wall hanging, trays like this were a traditional dance item with the Hopi girls lining up, holding the basket in front of themselves, and all moving the baskets together. In early days, these were often thrown to the crowd in a "give-away" ceremony ... but their high collector value today has greatly reduced that aspect of the ceremony.
Wicker plaques—often colorfully dyed—are popular items among collectors of Hopi arts and crafts. They are used domestically at Hopi to hold foods, including ground corn, corn on the cob, and piki bread, and ceremonially to hold prayer sticks, prayer feathers, and bean sprouts. Wicker plaques figure prominently in Hopi wedding ceremonies and women’s ceremonial dances, and are given away at the Bean Dance and katsina dances. Both geometric forms and more representational imagery woven into wicker plaques bear symbolic significance, conveying important cultural values and beliefs.
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