Early Navajo Wedding Basket

Navajo

second half 19th century | Willow, Sumac | Item 2357

This is an early Navajo wedding basket, showing both great wear and a wonderful patina. The colors are still sharp, especially on the outside where the surface has been more protected from sun damage. While there is no way of knowing, I feel that this basket dates to the last half of the 19th century, with a possible date of 1875. There is an interesting article titled The Art Of Making Dine Baskets online at the Natural History Museum of Utah.