MINIATURES
Case No. 2:
Indian women make these to show their skill in weaving. In similar fashion, the Anglo has engraved the Lord’s Prayer on the head of a straight pin in order to illustrate his skill.
The principal, and interesting difference is: the Anglo uses a magnifying glass and the Indian women do not.
MOOSE HAIR EMBROIDERY
c. 1875
Huron—Province of Quebec, Canada
Case No. 3:
This basket and the basket from Maine are rare examples of the old Indian art of moose hair embroidery. A cluster of very fine hair grows from the withers of the wild moose and this hair, dyed in suitable colors, is used for the embroidery.
The art of this type embroidery probably dates back to about 1714, at which time the natives used this method of decoration for their own buckskin clothing. It is believed that these people were taught the art at convents after the steel needle was introduced into this country from Europe in the eighteenth century. However, there is no proof of this theory.
It is interesting to note other unique examples of decorative art by these people; i.e., the drilling of seed pearls the size of the head of a straight pin and in turn, sewing these pearls on cloth or fiber. With crude tools, they created rare and beautiful works of decorative art which would be difficult for us to duplicate with today’s precision tooling.
After adopting Anglo-style clothing these Indians practiced moose hair embroidery art on trinkets such as these until it became almost extinct by 1890. Specimens such as these are rare even in museums. (See [Plate 8d])
Passamaquoddy—Malecite
Maine
This is a birch bark box covered with red cloth and decorated with moose hair embroidery. (See [Plate 8d])
WHALEBONE (Baleen)
Eskimo—Point Barrow, Alaska
Case No. 3:
The Baleen used in the weaving of this basket is found in the upper jaw of the Bowhead, or Alaskan Right Whale. This horny substance is pulled into various sized strips. While it is still fresh it is flexible and can be woven as easily as fiber. The same weaving technique used in making coiled baskets from grass roots is also used in the construction of this basket.
An Alaskan trader is credited with having taught the Eskimos to use Baleen as a weaving medium. The art was almost extinct until a few years ago when the U. S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board gave needed encouragement to the craftsmen.
The Bowhead, or Right Whale, is not plentiful at Point Barrow; only two or three such whales are caught during a good year. Some years none are caught.
Two factors are predominate in making this type of basketry scarce: 1) lack of Baleen, 2) the fifty hours necessary for a skillful craftsman to construct the specimen.
The decorative ivory figure on the lid of the basket is made of walrus tusk. (See [Plate 1b])
ALEUT ISLAND BASKETRY
c. 1860 and c. 1939-1944
Attu—Attu Island, Alaska
Case No. 6:
The baskets shown in display case no. 6, are the finest weave known to have been made in North America.
Woven in about thirty days, the average size basket may have up to 10,000 stitches to the square inch. The finest machine made cotton sheeting has 3600 stitches to the square inch.
The dark toned baskets were made about 1860 and the lighter toned ones were made between 1939 and 1944.
These specimens are made by the Aleut Indian women of a beach grass (Wild Rye) which grows on Attu Island. The stems and blades are about the size of wheat straw, and the Aleut women split them with their finger nails.
In 1741, Russian explorers discovered and settled the Aleutian Islands. They later found that the native women were wrapping their dead with finely woven, narrow strips of grass fiber and placing the bodies in caves.
Russians then encouraged the Aleuts to weave baskets of this same product. In the normal course of events, the Russians influenced the use of silk and cotton thread decorations on the baskets.
In 1948, Edward L. Keithan, curator of The State Museum of Alaska, made a field trip to the Aleutian Islands and found only three women still practicing this fine art of basketry. Today, there is no continuance of this art. (See Plates [1c] & [1d])