WATER TIGHT c. 1875 Thlinkit Alaska

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Case No. 5:

This water-tight boiling basket is made of spruce roots which have been finely split by hand. It is woven as tightly as commercially woven canvas water bags. These baskets are no longer made for cooking because metal containers are readily available.

The design motif of this unusually fine specimen is constructed of mountain grass, commonly called Squaw Grass. The grass is soaked in bog mud all winter, giving it the black color. The copper color is obtained by boiling the grass with copper ore, and the white is the same grass, sun bleached. (See Plate 9c)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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