photograph of baskets

Frost Photo Supply Company, artist

photograph of baskets, late 1800s–1909

Where object was made: California, United States

Material/technique: gelatin silver print

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 29.5 x 24.5 cm includes matboard
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 11 5/8 x 9 5/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 2007.7645

Not on display

Add to portfolio

If you wish to reproduce this image, please submit an image request

Images

Label texts

In the early 20th century, it was common for shops and galleries selling Native American art to take photos of their inventory as a way of advertising their wares to potential buyers. If you look closely at the bottom of this photo, you can see the Akimel O’odham basket on display in the case. Sallie Casey Thayer purchased several of the baskets in this photograph and they would later become part of her founding gift, along with more than 100 other Native American baskets, primarily from the West Coast and the American Southwest. It is interesting to note that this basket was likely made in Arizona, but sold through a shop in California. When Thayer visited California in 1915, interest in collecting Native American basketry was at its peak, and it was common for dealers to conduct collecting trips throughout the American west to find baskets, textiles, jewelry, and other pieces to sell in their shops.