540 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1902. 



For the artistic collector there is a verjMmportant mission, to know 

 and to foster the aboriuinal patterns and motives in decoration. JNIan}^ 

 of the shapes and designs in basketr}' are spurious. Besides the trashy 

 imitations of letters and common things on basketry, which mislead 

 no one, there is an important habit springing up of getting women of 

 one tribe to imitate the designs of another tribe. This works con- 

 fusion in two ways. It confounds the student of folklore absolutel}^ 

 and if there be any truth in the belief that in all art the material and 

 the motif have in the ages adapted themselves to each other '" like per- 

 fect music mito perfect words," the attempt to put Apache ornaments 

 on Pima, or Wasco on Klikitat is discordant. 



PRESERVATION OF BASKETS 



The art of a people must be judged by what they need not do and yet aceomplish. — A. C. Haddox. 



Textiles are among the most fragile and perishable of human indus- 

 trial products. Insects and rust, heat and cold, too inuch and too little 

 moisture, the common accidents of life, are hastening our pretty 

 baskets to their dissolution. Therefore, how to prolong the life of 

 a basket is a living question with all basket lovers, and the answer 

 will be easier if the causes of destruction are known. The three 

 enemies of baskets are moth and rust and human lingers. By the 

 moth are meant all destructive animals; by rust, natural decay ; and in 

 the last agency must be classed the myriad waj'S by which our fellow- 

 creatures purloin and destroy our treasures, E. S. Morse tells us that 

 the Japanese do not make of th(ur houses bazaars for the ostentatious 

 display of art objects, but they put them awa}^ in silk bags to bring 

 forth when they wish to delight their friends. Those collections that 

 have been made with a view to permanence should be kept so that the}" 

 will suffer least from damage. The dust may be blown from the speci- 

 mens with bellows. Those containing remnants of vegetable matter, 

 berries, food, etc., should be careful!}' scrubbed with soap and water, 

 and rubbed down with a very small portion of oil and drj^er. Above 

 all they should l)e poisoned with ia weak solution of corrosive sublimate 

 or arsenic dissolved in alcohol. A card catalogue giving the legend and 

 history of each piece would add much to the value of the collection. 



A list of collections of rarities in American basketr}^ is here 

 appended, by no means complete, but it will aid the student who 

 wishes to prosecute his investigations further to find the material. 

 First of all, in the great museums there are permanently in store 

 priceless examples of basketry, and in addition mau}^ costl}^ collec- 

 tions belonging to private individuals, have thus rendered a great 

 service to this writer. It is interesting to read over the names of the 

 men and women who long ago contributed to the great museums 

 precious examples of uncontaminated Indian art. 



