Miniature basket c. 20th century

This miniature basket was woven by a Tohono O’odham artist; it has a lid and is made with natural materials. I love how the entire object seems to be built from a single, spiraling line. It's the same repetitive gesture coiling around and around that gives the basket its form. The figures that adorn the basket feel almost like a secret language. There is a figure in a reddish-pink colour holding hands with a darker brown figure. The colours are made by using darker, thinner pieces of reed or grass in the woven surface. There’s something so tactile about this little container. You can imagine how the weaver’s hands moved as they coiled the materials, adding new layers. It reminds me of the work of Sheila Hicks, who also uses thread and fiber to create these tactile objects. It’s cool how the artist's hand is evident, and also how it exists as something beyond our own understanding.