Basket Item Number: 2911/17 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Rectangular cedar basket with attached lid. Imbricated inverted triangles in dark red, black and light brown decorate each side. The lid is attached to the basket by two hide thongs on one of the longer sides. It is flat with a slightly raised edge and a wrapped and braided half circle handle at the centre also attached with leather thongs. The lid has an inner rim that sits inside the basket, and the top is decorated with several lines of imbrication down the centre and an encircling line around the edge.

Narrative

Lutia Bidin was the mother of the donor, Rina Honderich. The Bidins had immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s, and moved from Deroche, BC to Woodfibre, BC c. 1918. Rina remembered women from Squamish canoeing over to Woodfibre to trade with her mother. Her mother would trade things like knitted socks, clothing and mats that she had made, for baskets that the Squamish women had made. Each would make a pile and when both sides agreed the exchange would take place. The baskets were used during the daily life of the family.

Item History

What

Name
Basket
Identification Number
2911/17
Type of Item
basket
Material
cedar wood, cedar root, cherry bark, grass and rawhide skin
Overall
height 11.3 cm, width 30.2 cm, depth 16.0 cm

Who

Culture
Coast Salish: Squamish
Previous Owner
Lutia Bidin and Rina Honderich
Received from
Rina Honderich (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Squamish, British Columbia, Canada ?
Collected in
Woodfibre, British Columbia, Canada

When

Collection Date
between 1918 and 1955
Ownership Date
before July 25, 2011
Acquisition Date
on July 25, 2011

Other

Item Classes
basketry
Condition
good
Accession Number
2911/0017