GN 431 |.M3 Copy 1 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY. OTIS T. MASON, Curator, Division of Kthnology. Part P of Bulletin of the United States National Museum, No. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1902. / SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY. OTIS T. MASON, Curator, Division of Ethnology. Part P of Bulletin of the United States National Museum, No. #£JS<& t&S T*Z per\ WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 1902. y r ^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/directionsforcolOOmaso DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY. By Otis T. Mason, Curator, Division of Ethnology. The sallow knows the basket maker's thumb. — Emerson. INTRODUCTION. The following instructions are published for the great number of persons who are interested in the collection and preservation of Ameri- can basketry. Besides the aesthetic elements involved and the pride of saving the best examples of a rapidly vanishing industry, there is a vast deal of culture stud}^ which ought not to be neglected. In every collection, public or private, there are opportunities for special investigation that should not be in the possession of only a single individual. If all who are gathering baskets would preserve such information as they are able to obtain, the bringing together of the results of all this study would be a monument to our American aborigines. The perfect understanding of a basket involves a knowl- edge of the following subjects: I. Materials. — Natural and prepared. 1. List of plants, animals, minerals, etc. 2. Indian name, giving the tribe. 3. Common name. 4. Scientific name. The following label of a specimen in the Hudson basketry collection will serve as a model to guide the collector in saving information about his specimens. BASKET JAR of the Ceeko Indians (Kulanapan stock). Made from the prepared root of Kahum, or California sedge (Carex mendocinensis) , throat and scalp feathers of Katatch, or woodpecker {Melancrpes formicivorus), breast feathers of Jucil, or meadow lark (Stumclla ncglecta), scalp feathers of Kayan, or mallard {Anas borchas), plumes of Tchikaka, or crested quail (Lophortyx calif amicus) , neck feathers of Tsawalu, or jay (Cyanura stcllcri), and Kaya, or prepared clam shell (Saxidomus gracilis), in a style of coiled sewing called Tsai, in which a single rod constitutes the warp. The sew- ing passes over this rod, under the preceding one, and locks in the stitch immediately underneath. Ornamentation, a row of shell disks around the margin and another row serving as a handle. Diameter, 5 inches. RUSSIAN RIVER, CALIFORNIA, 1896. 203,415. FROM THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, COLLECTED BY OR. J. W. HUDSON. [3] COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [4] II. Basket making.— Under this head are included all the activities involved in construction, namely: 1. Harvesting the materials. — This embraces descriptions of places, the times and methods involved, as well as the tools and apparatus used in gathering. '2. Preparing materials. — Frequently the raw materials are stored away until required. When the time comes for their use special manipulations are necessary, such as peeling, splitting, making- splints, yarning or twisting, twining, braiding, soaking, gauging, coloring. These should be noted carefully and described. 3. Processes of manufacture. — The materials being ready, the maker scats herself in the midst and begins the technic operations that should be minutely watched, and photographed, if possible. Collec- tions should be made also of tools, apparatus, and patterns. The processes of basket weaving are making braid, checker, wicker, twilled, wrapped, twined, and coiled work, in checks, decussations, meshes, stitches, overlaying, etc. III. Ornamentation. — This may be either in material, processes of making, or in added substances. 1. For at. — Especial attention should be paid to the aboriginal shapes, since they express the Indian mind, and everything possible should be done to discourage modern innovations. 2. Color. — This may be either natural or artificial. Since the intro- duction of modern dyes, the old methods of coloring are being aban- doned. The raw material of basketry and the processes of adding color both demand attention. 3. Designs.— This refers to all figures on the surface, whether in color, in technic, or however produced. In fact, basketry is mosaic; the (dements are always geometric figures, those of the coiled type are vertical, while those of other types are horizontal. IV. Symbolism and patterns. — Students of basketry have shown that almost every design serves as a key to Indian lore. The story, if such exist, can not be made up from the elements as in hieroglyphics, but must be taken down from the lips of the basket maker. How important it is, therefore, that those collectors who are in touch with basket makers should secure from them the precious information. V. Uses. — Baskets are used in food, dress, house, furniture, arts, and industries, as expressions of aesthetic culture, in social customs, and religion. From the cradle to the grave they are present, Only the observer on the spot can be trusted to gather such information fully. VI. Ethnic varieties and culture provinces, ancient and modern. It will be of great value to the student of technology to give the names of the tribes making basketry and to associate with each example the name and locality of its maker's tribe. Also a list of the varieties of basketry made by any tribe is of the utmost importance in arriving at a correct opinion concerning the simple or composite [5] BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. character of that tribe. The Porno, the Twana, and the Hopi, make each half a dozen styles of baskets. VII. Collections. — Those collections that have been made with a view to permanence should be kept so that they will sutler leasl from damage. The dust may be blown from the specimens with bellows. Those containing remnants of vegetable matter, berries, food, and so forth, should be carefully scrubbed with soap and water, and rubbed down with a very small portion of oil and dryer. Above all they should be poisoned with a weak solution of corrosive sublimate or arsenic dissolved in alcohol. A card catalogue giving- the legend and history of each piece would add much to the value of the collection. VIII. Bibliography. — Every con- tribution to the literature of the sub ject should be sent to the Division of Ethnology in the United States National Museum for safe-keeping- and ready reference. PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURE. FlG.l. COARSE CHECKER WORK. Report U.S.N.M., 1884, pi. 57, flg. »5. The various processes of manufacture will now be explained more definitely, and also illustrated. A. Checkerworh. — This occurs especially in the bottoms of many North Pacific coast examples, and also in the work of eastern Canadian tribes (fig. 1); in mat- ting its use is well-nigh universal. In this ware the warp and the weft have the same thickness and plia- bility. It is impossible, therefore, in looking at the bottoms of the cedar- bark baskets and the mat- ting of British Colum- bia (fig. 2), or Eastern Canada, to tell which is warp and which is weft'. In very many examples the warp and weft of a checker bottom are turned up at right angles to form the warp of the sides, which may be wicker or twined work. A great deal of bark matting is made in this same checkerwork, -— « m — — ' i Fig. 2. FINE CHECKERWORK. Report U.S.N.M., 1884, pi. 57. tig. 95. COLLECTOES OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [6] but the patterns run obliquely to the axis of the fabric, giving the appearance of diagonal weaving. When warp and weft are fine yarn or threads, the result is the simplest form of cloth in cotton, linen, pifia liber, or wool. The cheap fabrics of commerce are of this species of weaving. In art, latticework fre- quently shows the bars intertwined as in checker basketry (tig. 3). B. Diagonal or twilled basketry. — This is seen in those parts of the world where cane abounds. In America it is common in British Columbia, Wash- ington, Southern United States, Mexico, and Central America, and of excellent workmanship in Peru, Guiana, and Ecuador. The fundamental technic of diagonal basketry is in passing each ele- ment of the weft over two or more warp elements, thus producing either diagonal or twilled, or, in the best samples, an endless variety of diaper patterns (figs. 4 and 5). See Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 216, figs. 316-318, for excel- lent examples of this. The North Americans of antiquity were very skillful in administering the twilled technic. From examples reproduced by W. H. Holmes it will be seen that in the ancient Fig. 3. open checkerwokk. 6th An. Kept. Bur. of Ethnol., fig. 291, after W. H. Holmes. FIG. 4. DIAGONAL OH TWILLED WORK. Report U.S.N. M.. 1884, pi. If), fig. 28. Fig. 5. DIAGONAL OR TWILLED WORK. Report U.S.N.M., 1884. pi. 57. fig. 98. weaving of the Mississippi Valley, in its southern portions, the weft would not pass over the same number of warp elements that it passed under. On the specimens shown the weft goes over one and under three, or the opposite, each time and each way (figs. 6 and 7). Won- derful effects in this variation of the numbers of elements included are to be seen on Fijian basketry (fig. 8). [7] BULLETIN ,'59, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSE1 M Fig. ti. DIAGONAL OB TWILLED WORK. Pressed on ancient pottery of Tennessee. 3d An. Kept. Bur. of Ethnol., tig. 98. After W. II. II,, I Fig. 7. DIAGONAL OR TWILLED WORK. Pressed on ancient pottery of Alabama 3d An. Kept. Bur. of Ethnol., fig. 99. After W. H. Holmes. Fig. 8. diagonal work of fiji. Report U.S.N.M., 1881, plate 55, fig. 91. COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [8] Excellent variety is produced in this kind of weaving b/v means of color. Almost any textile plant, when split, has two colors, that of the outer or bark surface and that of the interior woody surface or pith. Also the different plants used in diagonal basketry have great variety of color. By the skillful manipulation of the two sides of a splint, by using plants of different species, or with dyed elements, geometric patterns, frets, labyrinths, and other designs in straight line are possible (tig. 9). Examples from the saltpeter caves and modern pieces from the Cherokee, both in matting and basketry, are Fig. 9. diagonal weaving ok the cherokee. Kept. U.S.N.M., 1881. pi. 53, fig. 89. double. By this means both the inside and the outside of the texture expose the glossy siliceous surface of the cane. C. Wickerwork. — Common in eastern Canada, it is little known on the Pacific coast and in the Interior Basin, excepting in one or two pueblos, but is seen abundantly in southern Mexico and Central Amer- ica. It consists of a wide or a thick and inflexible warp, and a slender flexible weft(fig. 10). The weaving is plain and differs from checkerwork only in the fact lliat one of the elements is rigid. The effect on the surface is a series [9.1 BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. of ridges. It is possible also to produce diagonal effects in this t\ pe of weaving. Fig. 10. wicker basket of the zunt. Kept. U.S.N.M., 1884, pi. 48. Bg. BO. Wickerwork must have been a very early and primitive lorm of textile. Weirs for stopping- fish are made of brush, and wattled fences for game drives are set up in the same manner. A great deal of the coarse basketry in use for pack- ing and transporting is made in this fashion. The Zufii Indians make gathering baskets of little twigs after the same technic, the inflexible warp being made up of a small bun- dle of twigs of the same plant. The transition from checker to wicker in some examples is easy. The mo- ment one element, either warp or weft, is a little more rigid than the other, the intersections would natur- ally assume a wicker form. The finest specimens in America are the very pretty Hopi plaques made of Bigelovia graveolens. Short stems are dyed in various colors, worked into the warp, and driven tightly home so as to hide the ends and also the manner of weaving (fig. 11). Fig. 11. close wicker work (>f the hopi. Kept. C.S.N.M.. 1X84. pi. i:>. fijj. 74. COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [10] Various patterns are effected on the surface— clouds, mythical birds, and symbols connected with worship. Wickerwork has pleasing effects combined with diagonal and other work (tig. 12). It has passed into modern industry through the cultivation of osiers, rattan, and such plants, for market baskets, covers for glass bottles,and in ribbed cloth, wherein a flexible weft is worked on a rigid warp. Also, good examples arc now produced by the Algonkin tribes of New England and eastern Canada. For commercial purposes, wicker baskets precisely like those of the Abenaki Indians are thus made. The white-oak t i m- ber is brought to the yard in sticks running from 6 to 40 inches in diameter, and from -1 to 18 feet long. It is tirst sawed into convenient lengths, then split with a maul and wedges into fourths or sixteenths. The bark is then stripped off with a drawing knife. The next process is cutting it into bolts at what is called the split- ting horse. These are taken to the so-called shaving horse, to be shaved down with a drawing knife into per- fectly smooth, even bolts, of the width and length desired. These are then placed in the steam box and steamed for a half hour or so, which makes the splints more pliable; they are taken thence to the splint knife, which is arranged so that one person, by changing the position of the knife, can make splints of any desired thickness from that of paper to that of a three-fourth inch hoop. The oyster baskets and most small baskets have the bottom splints laid one over another, and are plainly woven. Bui the round-bottomed baskets, used for grain and truck, are made by taking from 10 to 18 ribs and laying them across each other at the middle in radiating form, and weaving around with a narrow thin splint, until the desired size for the bottom is reached, when the Fig. ]•_». mat of the hop1 in diagonal and wick eh. 6th An. Kept. Bur. of Ethnol., fig. 286, after W. H. Holmes [11] BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. tther baskets, about :i dozen m a splints are turned up and set in series, for twenty-four hours. They are then woven around with a fine splint and placed on a revolving drum or form and tilled up the required height and set in the sun to dry for six hours. They are then shaken hard by striking tin 4 bottom on the floor, which causes the splints to settle tight together, and prepared for the rim. They next proceed to fasten the handles to the sides and put the rims or hoops on by fitting them into the notches made in the handles and binding them tightly with fine splints. The different styles are made 1 by using different shaped drums and vari- ously colored splints, the lat- ter being done by dipping- the splints, before weaving, into dyes. The more curiously made baskets are those for the char- coal and eelpots. The charcoal baskets are shaped like a tray and are carried on the head by the coal carriers. The eelpots are used as traps for catching eels. The wood is prepared for them in the same manner, and they are made on a form about 40 inches long and in the shape of a bottle minus the bottom, and have a funnel arrange- ment at either end which is detachable. D. Wr app e cl w eft. — Wrapped basketry consists of warp and weft. Examples of this technic are to be seen in America at the present time among the Indians of southern Arizona, the Mohaves, for their carrying frames (fig. 13). The warp extends from the rigid hoop, which forms the top, to the bottom where the ele- ments are made fast. The weft, usually of twine, is attached to one of the corner or frame pieces at the bottom and is wrapped once around each warp element. This process continues in a coil until the top of the basket is reached. In some of its features this method resembles coil work, but as a regular warp is employed and no needle is used in the coiling, it belongs more to the woven series. This method of weav- ing was employed by the mound builders of the Mississippi Valley. Fig. 13. carrying-basket, wrapped weaving, used by the mohave indians of arizona. Cat. No. 24145. US.N.M. Collected by Edward Palmer. COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [12] Fig. 14. wrapped weaving. Pressed <>n ancient pottery, from a mound in Ohio. 3d An. Kept. Bur. of Ethnol.. fig. 70. After W. H. Holmes. Markings of wrapped weaving on pottery are to be seen in the Third Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (fig. .14). This style of weaving had not a wide distribution in America, and is used at the present day only in a restricted region. When the warp and the weft are of the same twine or material and the decussations are drawn tight the joint resembles the first half of a square knot. The Mincopies of the Andaman Islands construct a carrying basket in the same technic. E . Twined or wattled basketry. — This is found in ancient mounds of Mississippi Valley, in bagging of the Rocky Mountains, down the Pacific coast from the island of Attu, the most westerly of the Aleutian chain, to the borders of Chile, and here and there in the Atlantic slope of South A merica. It is the most elegant and intri- cate of all in the woven or plicated species. Twined work has a set of warp rods or rigid elements, as in wickerwork; but the weft ele- ments are commonly administered in pairs, though in three-ply twining and in braid twining three weft elements are employed. In passing from warp to warp these elements are twisted in half-turns on each other so as to form a two-pl\ r or three-ply twine or braid. According to the relation of these w T eft elements to one an- other and to the warp, different struc- tures result as follows: 1. Plain tinned weaving, over single warps. 2. Diagonal twined weaving or twill, over two or more warps. 3. Wrapped twined weaving, or bird-rage twine, in which one weft element remains rigid and the other is wrapped about the crossings. 4. Latticed tinned weaving, tee or Hudson stitch, twined work around vertical warps crossed by hori- zontal weft clinical. 5. Three-ply twined wearing and braiding in sev- eral styles. Fig. 15. twined weaving in two colors. Kept. U. S. N. M., 1881. pi. 20, tig. 39. 1. Plain twined //w//vW/.— Plain twined weaving is a refined sort of wattling or crating. The ancient engineers, who built obstructions in streams to aid in catching or impounding fish, drove a row of sticks into the bottom of the stream, a few inches apart. Vines and brush were woven upon these upright sticks which served for a warp. In passing each stake the two vines or pieces of brush made a half -turn [13] BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Fig. 16. twined openwork of the aleuts. Kept. U.S.N. M., 1884, pi. 1. flg. 2. on each other. This is a very primitive mode of weaving. Plain 1 wined basketry is made on exactly the same plan; there is a set of warp ele- ments which may be reeds, or splints, or string, arranged radially on the bottom and parallel on the body. The weft consists of two strips of root or other flexible material, and these are twisted as in form- ing a two-ply string passing over a warp stem at each half turn (fig. 15). Pleasing- varieties of this plain twined weaving will be found in the Aleutian Islands. The Aleuts frequently use, for their warp, stems of wild rye or other grasses, in which the straws are split and the two halves pass upward in zigzag form; each half of a warp is caught alternately with the other half of the same straw and with a half of the adjoining straw, making a series of triangular instead of rectangular spaces (tig. 16). A still further variation is given to plain twined ware by crossing the warps. In bamboo basketry of eastern Asia these crossed warps are also interlaced or held together by a horizontal strip of bamboo passing in and out as in ordinary weaving. In such examples the interstices are triangular, but in the twined example here described (tig. 17) the weaving passes across between the points where the warps inter- sect each other, leaving- hexagonal interstices. This peculiar combin- ation of plain twined weft and crossed warp has not a wide dis- tribution in America, but examples are to be seen in southeastern Alaska and among relics found in Peruvian graves. 2. Diagonal tunned weaving. — In diagonal twined weaving the twist- ing of the weft filaments is precisely the same as in plain twined weaving. The difference of the texture on the outside is caused by the manner in which the wefts cross the warps. This style abounds among the Ute Indians and the Apache, who dip the bottles made in this fashion into pitch and thus make a Fig. 17. crossed warp twined weaving of the makah indians, washington state. Rept. U.S.N.M., 1884, pi. 16, fig. 31. COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [u] water-tight vessel, the open meshes receiving- the pitch more freely. The technic of the diagonal twined weaving consists in passing over two or more warp elements at each half turn; there must be an odd number of warps, for in the next round the same pairs of warps are not included in the half turns. Tin 4 ridges on the Fig. 19. variety of twined work, outside. Am. Anthropologist, new. ser. 3, 1901, fig. 18. Fig. 18. diagonal twined weaving of the UTE INDIANS, UTAH. Kept. U.S.N.M., 1881. pi. 21, fig. 11. outside, therefore, are not ver- tical as in plain twined weaving, but pass diagonally over the surface, hence the name (tig. 18). This method of manipulation L»nds itself to the most beautiful and delicate twined work of the Porno Indians. Gift baskets holding more than a bushel and requiring months of patient labor to construct are thus woven. Fig. 19 shows how, by varying the color of the weft splints and changing from diagonal to plain weaving, the artist is enabled to control absolutely the figure on the surface. 3. Wrapped twined weaving. — In wrapped twined weaving one element of the twine passes along horizontally across the warp stems, usually on the inside of the basket. The binding element of splint, or strip of bark, or string, is wrapped around the crossings of the horizontal element with the vertical warp (fig. 20). On the outside of the basket the turns of the wrapping are oblique; on the inside they arc vertical. It will be seen on examining Fig. 20. wrapped twined weaving. Rent, U.8.N.M., 1881, pi. 13. fig. 23. [15] BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, Fig. 2i. wrapped twined weaving. Kept. U.S.N.M.. 1884, pi. 11. Hg. 25. this figure that one row inclines to the right, the one above it t<» the left, and so on alternately. This was occasioned by the weaver's pass- ing from side to side of the square carrying basket, and not all the way round as usual. The work is similar to that in an old-fashioned bird cage where the upright and hori- zontal wires are held in place by a wrapping of liner soft wire. The typical example of this wrapped or bird-cage twine is to he seen among the Indians of the Wakashan family living about Neah Bay, Vancouver Island, and southwestern British Columbia (fig. 21). In this type the warp and the horizontal strip behind the warp are both in soft cedar bark. The wrapping is done with a tough straw-colored grass. When the weaving is beaten home tight the surface is not unlike that of a fine tiled roof, the stitches overhang each other with perfect regularity. Fig. 22 shows a square inch of the inside of a basket, with plain twined weaving in the two rows at the top; plain twined weaving in which each turn passes over two warp rods in four rows just below. , , In the middle of the figure, at the right side, it will be seen how the wrapped or bird-cage twined work appears on the inside, and in the lower right-hand corner is the inside view of diagonal twined weaving. In the exquisite piece from which this drawing was made, the skillful woman has combined four styles of two-ply twined weaving. On the outside of the basket these various meth- ods stand for delicate patterns in color (fig. 19). 1. Lattice-twined weaving. — The lattice-twined weaving, so far as the collections of the U. S. National Museum show, is con- fined to the Porno Indians, of the Kulanapan family, residing on Rus- sian River, California. Dr. J. W. Hudson calls this technic tee. This is a short and convenient word, and may be used for a specific name. The tee twined weaving consists of four elements — (a) the upright warp Fig. 22. twined weaving, inside. Am. Anthropologist, new ser. 3. 1901, fitf. 21. COLLECTORS OF AMERICAN BASKETRY MASON. [16] of rods, (//) a horizontal warp crossing these at right angles, and (c, d) a regular plain twined weaving of two elements, holding the warps firmly together (tig. 23). In all the examples in the U. S. National Museum the horizontal or extra warp is on the exterior of the basket. On the outside the tee basket does not resemble the ordinary twined work, but on the inside it is indistinguishable. Baskets made in this fashion are Aery rigid and strong, and fre- quently the hoppers of mills for grinding acorns, and also water- tight jars, are thus constructed. The ornamentation is confined to narrow bands, the weaver being greatly restricted by the technic. 5. Three-ply twined wt aving. — Three-ply twined weaving is the use of three Aveft splints and other kinds of weft elements instead of two, and there are four ways of administering the weft: r<\iorder of British Colum- bia. Thompson Salishan British Columbia. Tinne Athapascan Alaska. Tlinkit Koluschan Southern Alaska. Tolowa Athapascan Crescent City, California. Tonto Apache Athapascan Southern Arizona. Tsinuka Chinookan Columbia River. Tulare Moquelumnun Middle California. Tule Rivers Mariposan Southern California. Tw ana Salishan Puget Sound, Washington. [31] BULLETIN 39, UNITED STAPHS NATIONAL .Ml'SKI M. Tribe. Family. Locality. Umatilla Shahaptian Oregon. Utes, many divisions Shoshonean Utah. Viard Wishoskan Eel River, California. Waiam Shahaptian Dos Chutes River Oregon. Wailaki Copehan ..Round Valley, California. Walapai for Hualapai Yoman Northwestern Arizona. Wappo Ynkian Alexander Valley, California. Wasco Chinookan The Dalles, Oregon. Washoe Washoan Carson and elsew hen-, Nevada. White Mountain Apache. Athapascan Eastern Arizona. Wichmnni Mariposan Sierra Region, California. Wintun Copehan W. of Sacramento River, California. Wushqum Chinookan Columbia River, Oregon. Yakima Shahaptian Washington State. Yakutat Eoluschan About Yakutat Bay, SE. Alaska. Yana or Nozi Yanan Near Redding California. Yaqui Piman Sonora, Mexico. Yo al man i Mariposan Tule River, California. Yo er kal i Mariposan Tule River, California. Y^okaia Kulanapan Russian River, Ukiah Valley, Cali- fornia. Yokut Mariposan Middle California. Yolo Northern California. Y T uki Y^ukian Round Valley, California. Yuma tribes Yuman Southern Arizona and Lower Cali- fornia. Y T urok Weitspekan Klamath River, California. Zuiii Zunian Zufii River, New Mexico. o ill Kill in i 0F C0NG * ESS 019 953 791 A