Large Klickitat Basket Fully Imbricated with Figures

Washington State, Klickitat

Late 19th century | Cedar root, Bear grass, Horsetail foot | Item 2430

This fully imbricated Klickitat or Cowlitz basket has a wonderful glow to it, like warm honey. The basket shows a repeating, geometric, stepped design incorporating figures between. Imbrication is a technique where materials are wrapped over a coiled base to create an overlapping, shingle-like pattern. These baskets were typically used in the Pacific Northwest for gathering berries and other items. There would have been a strap attached to the basket which is now gone, but one can still see where it attached the hide and fabric remnants.

There are four areas where figures are placed. The first is in the lower portion, just above the base, and includes a woman in a dress and an animal, likely a dog. The next is also lower down and contains a woman in a dress adjacent to a child. Directly above these two, at the top, are a couple – a man and a woman standing next to each other. The final group is back at the bottom of the basket and shows a man wearing a hat with a child on each side of him.