Object Number 1958.2593 A, B

Object Name

Basket

Category

Wood (other)

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Unknown
This record is to be used when the maker of an object is unknown.

Place of Origin

Litchfield, Connecticut, New England, United States, North America

Origin Notes

This basket was most likely made by a Paugussett or Schaghticoke Native American in western central Connecticut. [LJohnson 2011]

Date

1800-1830

Subjects

Native American; Indigenous peoples

Materials

Splint; Ash; Ash, split

Dimensions (inches)

13 (H) , 10 (W) , 10 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

33.02 (H) , 25.4 (W) , 25.4 (D)

Object Description

Web - 03/01/2011

This basket is typical of those made on the Schaghticoke Reservation by Native Americans of the Paugussett culture in the early 19th century. By the second quarter of the 19th century the Schaghticoke makers developed a distinctive square lid and squat body, lending support to an earlier date for this round-lidded, tall basket. The original vivid red and blue colors swabbed onto the warp standards are also typical of early Paugussett baskets.
By the mid-eighteenth century, the Schaghticoke land was home to people of the Pootatuck, Paugussett, Wepawaug, Pequannock and Naugatuck cutlures. Baskets made in this region in the second quarter of the 19th century often exhibit Paugassett traits, such as the round lid with ring construction, mixed with some features later associated with Schaghaticoke baskets made by the Bunker family.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] McMullen, Ann. 1987 A Key into the Language of Woodsplint Baskets.
• Similar examples p.132-133
[Web Site] 2019 Caring for the Collections at Winterthur - A Paugussett Basket. Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc. 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8VJzlBixc
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