Polycrome Lidded Basket
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox, Karuk / Wiyot / American, 1875 - 1947
early 20th century
Wild grape root (Vitis californica Bethn.), myrtle sticks, hazel (Corylus sp.), maidenhair fern (Adiantum sp.), yellow-dyed porcupine quills, staghorn lichen (Letharia vulpina)
Overall: 4 1/8 × 4 15/16 × 4 15/16 in. (10.5 × 12.5 × 12.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W'18 Fund
2021.15ab
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Basket
Research Area
Native American
Native American: California Culture
Not on view
Label
Modernist photographer Laura Gilpin was drawn to the varied landscapes and rich history of the Southwest, particularly that of its Indigenous inhabitants. Here, the complex play of light and shadow exposes the stratigraphy of the canyon’s long and troubled history. For instance, in 1864 Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson forcibly removed the Navajo from the Canyon de Chelly, their ancestral homeland. Four years later, the Treaty of Bosque Redondo returned the canyon to the newly formed Navajo Nation.
Just as Gilpin was drawn to the breathtaking landscapes of the West, so were many wealthy tourists. In fact, many Native artists and communities used the tourist economy to make a living and perpetuate existing cultural and artistic practices. Basket-weaver Elizabeth Hickox, who lived along the Salmon River in Northern California and sold her work to curio dealer Grace Nicholson, is an excellent example of how these colonial entanglements impacted creative expression.
To create this lidded basket, Hickox used a twining technique to incorporate staghorn lichen–dyed porcupine quills with tightly woven maidenhair fern. The deep purple-black of the fern, combined with the golden yellow porcupine quills, provides the perfect contrast to highlight the flint mark design cascading around the form.
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
|"Karuq artists of the 19th century wove exceptional baskets for home use as well as social and ceremonial purposes. Beginning in the 20th century, community needs diminished as hand-woven baskets were replaced by commercially available goods. The renowned mother-daughter team of Elizabeth and Louise Hickox earned widespread recognition for the baskets they created for the emerging market of Anglo collectors. Drawing upon their incredible skills as well as their deep ancestral knowledge of the locally harvested materials which they combined with their artistic vision, the Hickox’s imagined and created an entirely new form. Beginning at the base of the basket, notice how the form curves inward and is topped with a signature knob." - Jami Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art at the Hood Museum of Art
Audio file transcription from the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2022
GEOG 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
SPAN 65.15, Wonderstruck: Archives and the Production of Knowledge in an Unequal World, Silvia Spitta and Barbara Goebel, Summer 2022
Exhibition History
This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 5–July 22, 2022.
Provenance
Cowan's Auctions, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; sold to present collection, 2021.
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