ABORIGINAL DECORATIVE ART — KRIEQER 553 



The environment of the Alaskii west coast Eskimo limits their choice 

 of materials suitaldt' for picto^'rapliic and (lecorative art. From tlie be- 

 pinuin^ of their occupancy of Alask;i, the Esliirao engraved geometric 

 dosipis on hone, ivory, and to a lesser extent on wood. Carvinj; in the 

 rouiKi in a highly realistic niaimer, althou;;h praiticed to a more limited 

 defiree, was no less successful, remlndlnR one in this respect of the art of 

 the northwest coast of British Columhia and of southeast Alaska. Em- 

 broidered desl^s were applied on skin garments by the southern Eskimo 

 and by the Aleut. 



Early designs were more curvilinear than are the more modern spurred 

 and angular engraved patterns. ReiM>atcd use of the eye motive of the 

 northwest coast tribes points to an early connection between these coast 

 peoples, which was only reci'ntly broken off by the intrusion of the 

 Athapascans. There is furthermore in these early attempts at decorative 

 art a striking similarity to the incomplete double volutes and double curves 

 of the Aainu of northern .Japan, and of the Siberian tribes. 



Pl.\te 21 



Coiled baskets of the Panamint and Ttilare Indians of Inyo and Ttilare Counties, 

 Calif. 



The upper (Panamint) l)asketry tray illustrates the so-called lone jdne 

 pattern, while the lower (Tulare) basket is decorated with the diamond 

 rattlesnake pattern. 



Plate 22 



Decorated coiled baskets of the Pomo Indians, Mendocino County, Callt. Orna- 

 mentation effecteil principally through sewing in of white shell beads, downy 

 tufts of woodpecker feathers, and in weaving patterns in colored (black) bas- 

 ketry splints to form geometrical designs symbolizing various life forms. The 

 Pomo attach a meaning to the ornamental structure. The same may be said 

 for the designs of the Salish tribes of British Columbia and for tl)e symbolic 

 ornamentation on the basketry of the Alaska Tlingit Indians, although the 

 Ha Ida do not attach much importance to their decorative devices on twined 

 basketry. The beautiful examples of Pomo coiled ba?ketry shown are built up on 

 either a single or 3-rod foundation, are sewn with split sedge root and the stems 

 of tiny feathers are caught under the stitches. Colors are obtained through 

 use of several kinds of bird feathers, as the red from the woodpecker, green 

 from the mallard duck, orange from the oriole, yellow from the meadow lark, 

 black from quail. In the shell pendants variety In colors is derived from the 

 tinted abalone and the white clam. 



Plate 23 



Basketry jars of the White Mountain Apache of Arizona ; gaming tray of the 

 Pomo; and (below) twined baskets of the Pomo decorated with shell beads 

 and feathers of the red woodpecker and other birds. 



Pl^Ti 24 



Exhibit in the United States National Museum of the decorative arts of the 

 Apache Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. 



The typical Apache decorative designs may be noted in the saddle bags 

 of cut hide and tanned skins, formerly the property of the Apache chief, 

 Geronlmo; also on the medicine man's dance .shirt of painted and otherwise 

 ornamented tanned skin, all highly symbolic and sacred to the Apache 



