Navajo Ceremonial Wedding Basket

Antique Navajo Ceremonial Wedding Basket made from an inner coil of sumac or cottonwood with an outer-coiling of split thin-leafed Yucca. The basket has changed from a clean white coloration to a more subtle reddish brown patina over a eighty plus year span. The step designs are clouds or mountains, the red ring in the can be described as a rainbow, and the center represents the beginning of life. The main feature of any wedding basket design is the pathway, adopted from the Navajo creation story. These baskets are traditional and are widely used for ceremonial occasions.

Circa: 1890