Berry Basket

Cylindrical basket with slightly expanding sides. Made of split roots of the spruce tree, natural color. A repeating, vertical, "tree shadow" (or snail track) pattern is woven into the basketry using skip stitch weaving. Decorated with upper and lower bands of straw false embroidery in "leaves of fireweed" patterns in black. Central band of an orange, elongated cross with black framing around the left and right arms. The black framing forms a zigzag on the sides and an orange lozenge shape is woven between each design segment. This design may be a variation of a "raven's tail" pattern. The central band is flanked above and below by a line of "strawberry basket," or checked, pattern in orange. Natural Indian dyes.

Technical notes: twined, close twined, two-strand, in-between weave (with plain), wrapped weft ("false embroidery"). 19 warps, 28 wefts per square inch. Bottom in between. Related to 30-11-9.