Coiled basket
- Audio guide stop: 156
- Gallery: Room 26
- Date: 1770 (circa)
- Object type: basket, bowl
- Materials: grass; shell; root (?); vegetal (?); feather
- Museum number: Am,VAN.189
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a coiled basket, shaped like a bowl, crafted between 1770 and 1770 from grass, shells, roots, and feather accents. Originally from Northern California, this piece reflects the weaving traditions of the Pomo or Miwok peoples, who are known for their intricate basketry.
You can see the fine coiled structure in the body of the basket, with carefully applied patterns that create strong geometric shapes. Along the rim, a zigzag pattern is woven into the design. Around the base and sides, you’ll notice dangling embellishments—strings of glass beads, abalone shells, and small wooden disks mixed with bright red feathers. These add both beauty and sacred meaning, as some of the feathers used in such baskets come from the Northern Flicker bird, important in ceremonial traditions.
This basket was collected during an 18th-century voyage led by George Vancouver and was donated to the museum by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks.
See it in person
Coiled basket is on display in Room 26 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 156, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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