Nuu-chah-nulth Basketry Bottle by Mable Taylor

 This is a vibrant Nuu-chah-nulth basketry bottle by Mabel Taylor. The designs are woven in shades of pinks, purple, green, navy, and yellow. They have a wonderful visual transition from geometric and linear designs to the more organic designs of a band of flowers and then the scene of different types of hunting, this includes an eagle hunting a fish and a whale hunting party. The shape of the bottle is globular with a long tapered neck up to the traditionally shaped stopper. There is minor fraying to the edges of the basketry at the mouth of the bottle and around the rim of the stopper.  

Mabel (Mable) Taylor -(1901-1984), member of the Tseshaht tribe, was originally from Ditidaht, but lived much of her life at Polly’s Point.  Mabel was a renowned basket-maker and teacher of the basket weaving, and her baskets can be found in museums and private collections around the world. She has also been interviewed about her process, which has led to inclusions in several books and a full length interview with John Gogol in his magazine American Indian Basketry, Volume 1, Number 4.
 
 She often taught the entire process, from the collection of materials ( grasses and cedar bark) to the dying and weaving of the basket.  She  is remembered for the stories she would tell and her warm sense of humor. 

Her work appears in private collections and several museums, including the British Museum.

D. 5½" : H. 9"