**First Time At Auction**

Native American, Southwestern United States, Navajo (Dine) culture, ca. mid to late 20th century CE. A collection of 5 miniature basketry pieces with a motif that is traditionally used on wedding trays. All are woven with a "false braid" finish but are much smaller than ceremonial trays and are probably sale items - the largest here is only 6.75 inches in diameter (17.1 cm). Note the break in the central pattern- known as a sipapu (shipapu)- forming a path from the outer rim through the dyed splints to the coiled start. The center star symbolized ancestors, the dark band are rainclouds, the red represents sun, and the outermost rim are current generations of people. The sipapu path is the connection between past and present peoples, and the bowl should be orientated with the path facing to the east, towards the rising sun. Size of largest: 6.75" Diameter (17.1 cm); smallest: 2.4" Diameter (6.1 cm)

Before the turn of the 20th century, woven and coiled basketry making was not a crucial part of Navajo culture, and baskets and wedding bowls used by Navajo people were often acquired through trade with neighboring Ute and Paiute tribes. The sacred sipapu, comes from the Hopi word for an opening or indentation in the floor of a kiva, a ritualistic building. The sipapu represents a portal that their ancestors first emerged from - changing from lizard-like beings into humans, the Grand Canyon is the site of the original sipapu.

Please note this item falls under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and is not eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, & Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.

Provenance: private Reinsmoen collection, Clear Lake, Iowa, USA, acquired through descent from Robert Anderson, acquired prior to 2000

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#185229

Some minor fraying to some rims and splints. Good condition.