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ProvenanceClaire Zeisler, Chicago, Illinois; Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.244.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 263.
Culture
Dine (Navajo)
Possibly
Southern Paiute
Wedding Basket
Date1900-1920
DimensionsOverall: 3 × 14 1/4 in. (7.6 × 36.2 cm)
Object numberT0467
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextNavajo baskets such as this one play a central role in wedding ceremonies. The bride makes cornmeal using red, blue, and white corn, which respectively symbolize health, happiness, and wealth. The cornmeal is placed on the basket and positioned between the bride and groom. The bride’s father sprinkles corn pollen, a symbol of fertility, in a quartered cross pattern over the cornmeal and around the edge of the basket. The couple then eats cornmeal and pollen from the quartered cross and the center. The quartered cross relates to the four cardinal directions, and the center of the basket refers to the Navajo creation story, representing the center of the earth from which the first Navajo people emerged. ProvenanceClaire Zeisler, Chicago, Illinois; Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.244.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 263.
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