Hopi Third Mesa Plaque with Crow Mother Katsina by Emily Quanimptewa

Emily Quanimptewa: Mastering the Art of Hopi Basketry

This wicker basketry plaque came from the hands of Hopi Third Mesa weaver Emily Quanimptewa. Its central design element is the Crow Mother katsina. She is surrounded by a wide band of russet orange color, a checkerboard rim band, and a black rim. In the early days, these bright colors were produced using a complex and time-consuming vegetal dye method. A wide variety of beans, seeds and flowers were used. Clay and coal were used to create white and black. Later, the weavers began using aniline dyes. They'd usually obtain these dyes from the traders who purchased their work.

This Crow Mother piece is an excellent example of wicker basketry. It is sturdy, tightly woven, and in excellent condition many years after its creation. Its colors stand out as particularly bright and appealing, and its design is uniquely stylish.

Emily Quanimptewa is from the Third Mesa village Shungopavi. She has been an active basket maker since the 1950s. There is very little biographical information in published references except for the mention that she is a sister of Joyce Saufkie, another master basket maker.

Condition: very good condition for its age

Provenance: this Hopi Third Mesa Plaque with Crow Mother Katsina by Emily Quanimptewa is from the collection of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: American Indian Baskets I, 1500 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: Southwest Indian Basketry, Hopi Pueblo, Emily Quanimptewa