266 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.40. 



boards and to found trading stations on the coast of Ethiopia, and at 

 that period Koloe and Ava, the cities of the Himyarites, were flourish- 

 ing, later to be succeeded by the great Axumite empire whose city, 

 Axum, shows Himyaritic culture developed under Grseco-Roman 

 influences. 1 



CATALOGUE. 



BASKETRY. 



Embroidered hat. — Of palm midrib coiled, the whole surface, 

 interior and exterior, laid over with green, yellow, red, white, and 

 black floss silk. The work is called basket stitch and is one of the 

 most ancient methods of couching. The hat is of European shape, 

 and was made and embroidered by the Abyssinian women in the 

 northern province of Waag. 



Diameter, 14 inches; height, 4 inches. 



PI. 12, fig. 1, Cat. No. 261884, U.S.N.M. 



Coiled basket. — Formed of small coils of straw held together with 

 a loosely twined splint. The sewing is of purple, green, and yellow 

 dyed straw over one and three coils alternately and interwoven with 

 yellow straw, producing pleasing textile patterns. The interweave 

 is an advance on the coil work of the Hopi Indians of Arizona, whose 

 basketry alone of all the tribes is like that of northern Africa, but 

 simpler in execution than the Abyssinian. The specimen has a lid 

 like an embossed shield, a capacious body resting on a foot. The 

 salient edges are bound in red morocco leather, and the lid has a loop 

 in the apex for convenience in lifting. 



This specimen was presented to Mr. Philip by Dedjaz Abatta, a high 

 Abyssinian military official. These baskets are used as receptacles 

 for crushed corn and millet, of which thick moist cakes of Abys- 

 sinian bread are made. 



Diameter, 20 inches; height, 16 inches. 



PI. 12, fig. 2, Cat. No. 261880, U.S.N.M. 



METAL WORK. 



Embossed shield. — Of buffalo hide, formed, when damp, into a high 

 boss, the edge raised and turned over with a neat finish. The exterior 

 surface has near the edge a band of geometric pattern in low relief 

 and is decorated with repousse silver having crescentic and triangular 

 openings, and these plates are applied with round-headed tacks. A 

 cap, engraved on its upper surface, is set at the apex, and bosses hide 

 the places where the handle passes through the structure of the shield. 

 The interior is lined with red morocco leather bearing fine geometric 

 design, and the lining is secured under the overturned edge of the 

 shield. The handle is large, covered with fine leather, and looped 



' See Keane's review of Ethiopian history in Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel, Africa, 

 vol. 1, London, 1895, pp. 445-446. 



