Tohono O'odham (Papago) Coiled Basket with Stepped Geometric Design

A hand-coiled basket attributed to the Tohono O'odham (formerly known as Papago) of southern Arizona, worked in bleached yucca over a bear grass bundle foundation with devil's claw providing the dark contrast. The form rises from a flat coiled base into deep, slightly flaring sides with a soft, irregular rim — the gentle ovality and undulating lip are characteristic of utilitarian Tohono O'odham coiling rather than flaws of construction. The exterior carries a bold stepped and banded pattern in devil's claw black, while the interior base shows a radiating spoke motif emerging from a wrapped center start.

Tohono O'odham basketry of this style was produced in volume from the early twentieth century onward across the Sonoran Desert reservations south and west of Tucson, with yucca-and-bear-grass coiling largely replacing the earlier willow-and-cattail tradition by the 1920s. The relatively coarse stitch count, sturdy bundle foundation, and graphic stepped design place this example in the mid-twentieth-century working tradition ⚑ — a basket made to be used, not strictly for the tourist display market.

CONDITION

Good with age-appropriate wear. Wear along the sides, rim, and bottom consistent with handling and use; some splintering and minor losses to rim wrapping at one section, and scattered fiber wear on the base. Form remains stable and the design is fully legible throughout.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Height: 5"
• Diameter: 8.5"
• Materials: Yucca, bear grass, devil's claw
• Technique: Coiled construction
• Cultural Attribution: Tohono O'odham (Papago), southern Arizona