1910 NAVAJO  CEREMONIAL WEDDING BASKET - 11' ACROSS 2.5" DEEP w history

Description

1910 NAVAJO CEREMONIAL WEDDING BASKET - 11' ACROSS 2.5" DEEP w history. 12 point wedding ceremonial basket given to my great uncle by the weaver as a gift. It is in excellent condition for its age, and every original stitch and weave are intact. (see photos). It was dyed using the vegetable dyes of the time, so it is an original Navajo weaving. It has a slight mark from paint which is barely visible but I was told not to try to remove it, as it might ruin its integrity. It has never been cleaned or restored, so there is natural dust between some of the weaving which is barely noticeable.
This beautiful ceremonial basket is from the estate collection of my great uncle, Tony Richardson, Southwest Indian trader and a prolific Western writer. It is an antique basket, woven near 1910-11 at Cameron Trading Post, AZ. Richardson was a trader, living and working with Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Native Americans as he and his family owned several trading posts in New Mexico and Arizona from the 1880's on. He was a friend to the Indians and this basket was a gift to him from the weaver. His (our) family founded several trading posts in the four corners area,
and at least 2 of them survive today:
Cameron Trading Post, in Cameron, AZ,
and Richardson Trading Post on Route 66 in Gallup, NM, still family owned.