Miniature Pima Basketry Jar with Lid [SOLD]

The Akimel O´odham (Pima) River People of Arizona were major basket makers in the late 19th century, primarily making them for their own use.  At the turn of the century, basket weaving was being practiced in every home.  This continued into the early 20th century, at which time Southwest Indian basketry became a collectible commodity, but it was not financially rewarding for the basket makers, so many of them stopped making baskets for sale.  By 1960, they were not even making baskets for their own use.  They had, by then, substituted commercially made pots and pans for utilitarian use.

A few basket makers fulfilled the commercial need for miniature baskets for collectors of miniature items and for display in miniature doll houses.  This traditional basket, smaller than the diameter of a United States 10 cent coin, features a stepped design on the basket body. The lid has a horsehair twisted handle.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: from a former resident of Kansas City, MO who collected miniature baskets in the 1960s.

Recommended Reading:  Traditions in Transition—Contemporary Basket Weaving of the Southwestern Indians by Barbara Mauldin