Hopi Coil Basket Collection
Toh-Atin Galley has just received a collection of Hopi Coil Baskets that were collected in the 1950's through the 1980's. It is an outstanding collection, primarily of wall plaques or trays, in excellent condition. The collection is being offered for sale for the first time, there are approximately 55 baskets to choose from.
The Basket Ceremony is one of the most important for the people of Second Mesa. Baskets are exchanged and thanks are given for the "Blessings" for the year. The women of the Hopi tribe are responsible for preserving the harvest, storing and drying the corn, making the thin bread that is used throughout the year for ceremonials and making the baskets.
For centuries, the Hopi women of Second Mesa have woven these beautiful coil baskets. Using natural materials, gathered around the mesas, they have created baskets with geometric shapes, animal shapes and, primarily, the Kachina images. Very few of these quality baskets make it to the collector market as their primary reason for being woven is ceremonial and to be given as gifts.
It is hard and tedious work to gather the materials, the golleta grass for the foundations and the yucca for the weft of the baskets. Parts of the yucca must be gathered early in the year from the center of the plant in insure a white material. Other parts of the plant are gathered later, split and dried in the sun to get the yellow colored material while green leaves are picked late in the season. The red dyes are made from Navajo or Hopi tea.
While these baskets are still done for Ceremonial use, fewer and fewer are being made for the commercial market. There just isn't enough time in the average Hopi woman's life and when you figure the time spent weaving the baskets, the rewards are not financially great.
