Degikup by Louisa Keyser, circa 1918. Louisa Keyser is credited with revolutionizing all aspects of Washoe coiled basketry while influencing other Washoe weavers and basketmakers throughout the Great Basin (Dalrymple, 2000). This degikup collected by Clark Field is one of the finest known examples of her work. Abe Cohn assigned number rLK-61 to this basket. Philbrook Museum of Art, 1942.

For centuries, American Indians have woven remarkable basketry suffused with their cultural heritage. Showcasing 125 baskets, “Woven Worlds: Basketry from the Clark Field Collection,” on view at the Mint Museum of Craft & Design September 9-December 31, honors tribal groups from the United States, Canada and northern Mexico, and weaves together the interrelationship between the artists and the collector, Clark Field.

This special exhibition and its companion catalog are the culmination of four years of concentration on the Philbrook Museum of Art’s encyclopedic collection of baskets dating from the late Nineteenth to the mid-Twentieth Century.

American Indian basket weavers have long transformed grasses, roots, ferns and bark into works of art unsurpassed for their aesthetic appeal. By the close of the Nineteenth Century, museums and collectors were scrambling to acquire authentic American Indian baskets from what was thought to be a “vanishing culture.”

What began as a hobby in 1915 for Field, a Tulsa, Okla., businessman, turned into an obsession by the 1930s. Field’s passion for American Indian basketry took him 125,000 miles, to approximately 142 different tribal groups, resulting in a 1,070-piece collection of American Indian baskets.

Field’s journey from Tulsa to New Mexico and California, through the deserts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah, and north to the cold Northwest Coast and Alaska is traced in his pursuit of baskets featuring excellent craftsmanship and magnificent beauty. Masterpieces from approximately 80 tribal groups are represented in this exhibition, including Washoe artist Louisa Keyser’s (Dat So La Lee) spectacular “Degikup,” 1918, and an outstanding Pomo feather basket, as well as Apache and Pima trays.

Pomo feather basket, circa 1877. Basket weavers of central California have a long tradition of decorating their baskets with feather inclusions. This basket includes feathers from the native Californian redheaded woodpecker, interspersed with topknots from the California quail, as well as clam disk beads. As feathers of introduced bird species became more prevalent and easier to obtain, feathered baskets evolved to fancy “sun baskets.” Philbrook Museum of Art, 1948.

Beginning with the first basket Field collected in 1915, a Jicarilla Apache hamper, the exhibition is arranged by regions. Examples of work from eight regions are on display: the Southwest, Southeast, the Intermountain West (including the Great Basin and Plateau), California, Northwest Coast, Artic and Sub Arctic, Plains and Prairie, and Eastern Woodlands (including the Northeast and Great Lakes). Each region focuses on technique and materials in relation to the culture and environment of the native peoples living there, allowing an opportunity to compare and contrast baskets from the eight regions and witness the vast diversity among the indigenous peoples of North and Central America.

To tell these stories more clearly, included in the exhibition are historic photographs and two textiles: a Chilkat blanket in the Northwest Coast section, and a Navajo Third Phase chief’s-style blanket in the Southwest section. The story of the collector Clark Field will also unfold from region to region.

“Woven Worlds: Basketry from the Clark Field Collection” celebrates the tightly focused vision of one collector and the artistic and geographic diversity found within the American Indian culture.

“Woven Worlds”-related activities include craft demonstrations by American Indian artists, children’s classes, teacher workshops, public lectures, a family day, family fun guide to the exhibition and artist residencies in local schools.

For information, 704-337-2000 or www.mintmuseum.org.