Innovation

Unrecorded Pomo artist

Feather basket

1920-1940
coiled willow (Salix hindsiana) and sedge (Carex barbarae) with clamshell disc beads (Saxidomus nuttalli), abalone shell pendants (Haliotis rufescens), quail topknots (Callipepla californica), Acorn Woodpecker feathers (Melanerpes formicivorus), Western Meadowlark feathers (Sturnella neglecta), cotton string
Gift of Harrison Eiteljorg
1991.16.3
About the Artist

Unrecorded Pomo artist

Historic or customary items (such as the ones in this exhibition) were separated from their original makers and communities, resulting in a difficult, challenging history of collecting and exhibiting Native art. An unintended anonymity within Native art has occurred because the names of artists were not recorded at the time their art was collected. Past anthropologists and collectors were more interested in acquiring the items; the artists’ names were not a priority for them. Despite this error in judgement, these artists were known by his/her/their community. We acknowledge this relationship in our text labels that read “unrecorded artist of”.

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