Third Mesa Wicker Plaque [SOLD]

Third Mesa wicker plaques or yungyapy as they are called at Hopi are the most common form of basketry at Third Mesa. Although a large number are made for sale, even a larger number never leave the reservation. They are used in payment for the Hopi bride's wedding robes, used as gifts to repay favors or for work performed, or as prizes in footraces. They are also used as part of the dance paraphernalia in women's dances and as gifts to newborn babies.

The warp material in wicker baskets is usually a single stem of a rigid nature. The weft is a material, usually stems from rabbit brush, which is more flexible. The basket is started in a cross-warp fashion and the weft is woven around the warps in a circular pattern. Generally the weft material is dyed with vegetal dyes to produce a large pallet of colors for designs.

This Third Mesa plaque woven by Rhoda Saho features an embroidered robe design (Tuii'yungyapu).

Item Provenance: This is the exception: purchased from the Amerind Museum Store, Dragoon, AZ in 1981.