Indian Basket Rendered by Gordena Jackson (artist), 1935/1942 watercolor, graphite, gold ink, and silver ink on paperboard overall: 68.6 x 50.8 cm (27 x 20 in.) Original IAD Object: 16" long; 9 1/2" deep Index of American Design 1943.8.8118

From the Tour: Folk Arts of the Spanish Southwest from the Index of American Design
Object 20 of 25

Baskets of the California Indians have been considered the finest of their type ever made. This one was made in 1822 at the Mission of Buenaventura. An inscription woven into the border reads: "Made by Anna Maria Marta, Neophyte of the Mission of the Serafic Doctor, Saint Bonaventura." The central panel shows the coat of arms of Spain: a crown above the castles of Castile and the lions of Leon. The representation of the coat of arms is so simplified that it is barely recognizable, partly because the technique of weaving tends to give a geometric character to any design. The basket is made in the usual Indian fashion: coils of a tall, thin grass were covered with rush and sewn together.

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