$ 49.95

Book Details

Antique Native American Basketry of Western North America

A Comprehensive Guide to Identification

A comprehensive guide to identification, this book is for readers who are interested in antique Native American basketry, specifically the skill of basket making tribes of western North America. It is not a formal anthropology text, but rather an organized compendium of Native basketry information that blends the previous work of many anthropologists and the experience of the authors. The text defines how collectors, curators, dealers, auction personnel, academics or any interested person can systematically approach tribal identification of Native American basketry. It does this by clarifying the authors’ rationale for tribal groupings based on basket types and not on language or other cultural traits. It explains the multiple Native American basket making materials and techniques and describes how understanding this information can lead to an accurate tribal attribution. This knowledge is essential in developing connoisseurship and will enhance an appreciation of this wonderful Native American art form.

 

About the Authors

Alan Blaugrand

Alan Blaugrund is a retired dermatologist with an undergraduate degree from Stanford and an M.D. degree from Columbia University. He became interested in Native American basketry while doing his residency in Portland, Oregon. He credits many academics, dealers, collectors, and curators for assisting his continuing basketry education. He has studied, collected, and enjoyed Native American basketry for over forty years and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

John Kania

John Kania obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota in 1969. Moving to California six years later, he there became inspired by the rich body of Native American basketry produced by the numerous tribes in that state. His research into basketry began at that time. In 1981 he opened a gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he continues to reside. In 2004 he presented a paper on the origins of Chemehuevi basketry to the Great Basin Anthropological Conference, and in 2008 he presented an additional paper to that same body on the weavers of Victorville, California. He is the author of two articles on Chemehuevi basketry which appeared in American Indian Art Magazine (Scottsdale, Arizona) in 2006 and 2007.