I-M-192 Yokuts miniature bowl.
The Yokuts, whose members traditionally spoke the Yokutsan language belonging to the Penutian Superfamily of languages, lived in the central San Juaquin Valley region of California. Their territory stretched roughly from Stockton in the north down to Bakersfield in the south. They were formerly called the Tulare Indians by the Spanish settlers meaning “people of the tules”, tule being a type of marsh plant found in the shallow lakes and wetlands that once existed throughout traditional Yokuts territory. They were at one time a very large tribe with sixty-three sub-tribal divisions with estimates of 25,000 to 35,000 people in 1772 when the Spanish first arrived in the area (Latta). Today their population has shrunk to a fraction of that number. The Yokuts were well known for their beautifully woven polychrome baskets with some of the very finest North American Indian baskets coming from the hands of Yokuts weavers. This charming little bowl was clearly made for the tourist market as miniature baskets were not commonly made by the Yokuts weavers. It has a pleasant polychrome design and a small foot to the bowl allowing the base to be much smaller and creating a greater flare to the side of the bowl. Coiling is to the right using a bundle of deer grass ( Muhlenbergia) for the foundation of the coil. The sewing splints are split sedge root (Carex) for the white, split non-peeled California redbud (Cercis) for the red and split dyed bracken fern root (Pteridium) for the black. A delightful little piece. 3 3/4"d. by 2 1/2"h. Circa 1930. $975.00