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Accession Number
2018.13.31
While the Wabanaki have been weaving baskets since time immemorial, when they were forced off their land under European colonization basket-making became a means of economic independence and resistance to assimilation. Since the nineteenth century, Wabanaki artists innovated traditional utilitarian forms to meet collectors’ tastes, leading to a new style of basketmaking—fancy baskets.
This fancy Micmac basket features multiple jutting cone designs that distinguish this beautiful external pattern. The lid’s top is made from braided sweetgrass and forms a decorative bow which contrasts the basket’s barbed points spouting from its top to bottom.
- From the exhibition Innovation and Resilience Across Three Generations of Wabanaki Basket-Making (February 1–May 1, 2022), curated by members of the Native American Student Association—Amanda Cassano ’22, Sunshine Eaton ’22, and Shandiin Largo ’23.
Additional Media
overall, alternate view
overall, alternate view
overall, alternate view
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