Jicarilla Apache Polychrome Cylindrical Clothes Hamper Basket [SOLD]

All Jicarilla baskets are of coil weave, usually of sumac, but sometimes of willow.  Jicarilla Apache basketry covers a long span of time, but very little is known of their work before they were settled on a reservation in 1887 in northern New Mexico.

Clothes hampers were definitely a concession to the non-Indian buyers. The decoration on the exterior of this basket has faded from its original vivid colors. Mostly, baskets of this age have faded so badly that the original decoration cannot be discerned.

Because of their nomadic or wandering nature, the Apache left no evidence of basket weaving before they were settled on a reservation in 1887. According to Clara Lee Tanner, "Several aspects of this basketry give cause for questioning: What is the origin of the braided rim, the five-rod foundations? Did they acquire these traits from the Rio Grande puebloans during their wandering years or later? Or did they get them from other Indians? Certainly, these are not Apache traits in terms of Western and Mescalero Apache basketry."

She continues: ". . . the pueblo coiled basket is probably the real ancestor of Jicarilla basketry. . . [There is] evidence of the long life among these puebloans of certain traits later found among the Jicarillas. These traits include the braided rim, five-element foundation, the use of sumac, and even the use of similar designs." Tanner, 1982:142

Interestingly, after the puebloans cut down on basket weaving, they procured baskets from the Jicarilla. The Jicarillas often visited with the puebloans of the northern villages and attended pueblo dances. By the early 1950s, the Jicarillas began to cease making basketry. A decade later, the craft was revised but with new designs. The newer style is still very much in production.

Condition:  the condition of this one is quite good.

Recommeded Reading: Apache Indian Baskets by Clara Lee Tanner

Relative Links: Jicarilla Apache, Southwest Indian Basketry