LARGE BASKET. OLD PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW ORIGINAL PEALE TAG. PUBLICATION: USNM ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1902, ABORIGINAL AMERICAN BASKETRY, OTIS MASON, PL. 164, P. 436. EXHIBITED MAGNIFICENT VOYAGERS, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 1985-86.ILLUS. FIG. 2, P. 45 AND DISCUSSED P. 46 IN "SALISH BASKETS FROM THE WILKES EXPEDITION" BY CAROLYN J. MARR, AMERICAN INDIAN ART MAGAZINE, VOL. 9, NO. 3, 1984, AND ID THERE AS TWANA SOFT-TWINED BASKET, CALLED T'KAYAS, USED FOR HOUSEHOLD STORAGE OF BLANKETS AND CLOTHING, LOOPS OF TWISTED CEDAR ROOTS AT RIM FOR TYING BASKET SHUT, DECORATED IN OVERLAY OF CEDAR BARK AND BEAR GRASS WITH DESIGNS OF DOGS IN RIM AREA AND STARFISH IN MAIN FIELD, A SMALL BIRD FIGURE (HORNED GREBE) MARKS THE SEAM AT THE RIM. Illus. Fig. 9.9, p. 207 in Brotherton, Barbara. 2008. S'abadeb = The gifts : Pacific Coast Salish arts and artists. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum in association with University of Washington Press. Figure caption identifies as Twana, Skokomish, early 19th century, cattail leaves, bear grass, cedar bark, soft twined basket. Margaret Mathewson concurs with Skokomish attribution.

Provenance of this figure is uncertain. From the repatriation case report ("Assessment Of Unassociated Funerary Objects from the Memaloose Islands, Washington and Oregon..."): "This carving is made from a single piece of wood and represents a standing male figure. Behind the figure is a flat rectangular base or plinth and the figure is standing on a box-shaped section. This object was cataloged originally with "Africa"as the provenience (Figure 2), but at some time in the past the catalog card was amended to read "Oregon (or Columbia R. Valley)." "Oregon" is also written on the object next to the catalog number. This is one of two carved wooden figures listed below the other "Mameluke" Island objects in the original accession list. [The other is E316424.] They are both listed with Africa as the provenience... [but] these objects are very different from one another in style and shape. E316425 [this one] looks similar to other carved images from the Lower Columbia River, which may have led to the change in identification on the catalog card. Boyd (1996:122-126) discusses a category of objects called pat-ash made by peoples of the Columbia River area, which included carved wooden images. Boyd (1996:122) interprets pat-ash figures as guardian spirits and notes that they were found in three contexts: near a chief's bed, in winter ceremonies, or at grave sites. Images of some of pat-ash figures from Grave Island and Upper Memaloose Island are included in Boyd (1996: Plate 14). Robin Wright, Curator of Native American Art at the Burke Museum in Washington, suggested that this carving is similar to others from the southern Northwest Coast and pointed out that the skeletal structure showing the ribs and the negative triangles carved on the base are particular features similar to other Columbia River sculptures (Robin Wright, personal communication 2001). Mary Jo Arnoldi, Curator of African Ethnology at the NMNH, believes that some features of this sculpture are very similar to Nubian African sculptures, including the ribs and the negative triangles on the base (Mary Jo Arnoldi, personal communication 2006). Joseph Simms did collect some other material from Nubia. It is difficult to tell whether this carved figure is from Africa or Oregon since the stylistic elements from both sculptural traditions are present on this object. Even if it could be determined to be from Oregon, we would be unable to determine if Simms collected it from one of the Memaloose islands or elsewhere in the Columbia River region."

A FLAT POUCH, ROUNDED AT THE BOTTOM, SQUARE AT THE TOP, MADE OF BLUE AND RED FELTED CLOTH SEWN ONTO TANNED HIDE. THERE IS BLUE FELT EDGING ALL AROUND. APPLIQUE IN BLUE ON RED AND RED ON BLUE, EACH BORDERED WITH WHITE GLASS BEADS. HAS ORIGINAL PEALE TAG; ALSO OLD SHIPPING TAG READS, "N.W.C. BY E. VERY, EX EX 36 BOX". EXHIBITED MAGNIFICENT VOYAGERS, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 1985-86.Provenience note, in 1841 Oregon Territory encompassed the land from Russian Alaska to Spanish California and from the Pacific to the Continental Divide. The U.S. Exploring Expedition did not go to Canada, but did reach Oregon Territory in 1841, and carried out a hydrographic survey of the Columbia River from its mouth to the Cascades, as well as doing some surveying inland.They had dealings with Hudson's Bay Company staff during that time, and it is probable that the HBC is the source of a number of the Northwest Coast artifacts collected by the expedition.

FROM CARD FOR 2697-2698: "WOODEN IMAGES CARVED BY THE NATIVES OF OREGON". COLLECTED BY S. B. ELLIOT OF THE EXPEDITION. NO. 249 WAS LOST BY HARNONCOURT IN 1938."Illus. p. 310 and discussed p. 310 and p. 389 of Gilman, Carolyn. 2003. Lewis and Clark across the divide. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books. Identified there as a carving of a sailor, Chinookan, collected by S. B. Elliot when the U.S. Exploring Expedition visited the Oregon coast in 1841.Peale catalogue identifies # 249 (E2698) and # 250 (this object) as "Wooden images carved by the natives of Oregon."Human figure with hands in front pockets. He is wearing a round, patterned hat and has prominent ears. Figure is carved from a single piece of wood, with shallow manufacture marks noted overall, particularly on the legs. Red stain has been applied overall but is mainly noted present under hat rim, under hat brim, in nostrils, and in the mouth. Has original Peale # label.

PARTS OF BARK SKIRT, OREGON OR WASHINGTON.

From card: "Dyed, large." Group of thin sticks.

FROM CARD: "CONSISTS OF 5... FOR STUDY & RETURN: MR. STEWART CULIN. UNIVERSITY OF PENN., PHILA, PA. MARCH 24, 1897."Peale catalogue identifies as "Dice made of beaver teeth, used by the natives of Oregon in playing a native game." See "NARRATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION," VOL. IV, P. 392, CHARLES WILKES, 1845.Reference: "Games of the North American Indians" by Stewart Culin, Smithsonian Institution. 1907. Twenty-fourth annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology: to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1903. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O. On pp. 155-156, Culin discusses the use of beaver teeth dice by the tribes of Puget Sound and British Columbia. On pp. 137-138 he describes woodchuck teeth dice used by the Kamath of Oregon.The two more complete teeth are etched with dark zigzag lines forming triangular designs.