1890s NATIVE AMERICAN PIMA INDIAN MAN IN A MAZE COIL BASKET / FLAT GAMBLING TRAY

Description

Very rare and original, ca1890’s Native American Akimel O’odham / Pima Indian, hand woven, Man-in-a-Maze Coil Gambling Tray.
This outstanding, late 19th century Pima Flat Tray Basket measures approx. 11 1/2" in diameter. The Tray is tightly hand woven and made of cattail or bear grass coils for the warp and with the weft made from soap tree yucca (tan) and devil's claw (black) elements. The Basket is decorated with the iconic O’odham “Man in the Maze” design featuring the figure of a human at the top entrance to a concentric maze / labyrinth.
Generally designs can be misleading when attempting to identify basketry from the Southwest, but the “man in the labyrinth” design is traditionally specific to the O’odham. In the legends of the O'odham peoples, a great flood drowns all but three beings. Each of these three attempts to recreate man from earth and eventually Elder Brother (Se-eh-ha or I'itoi) is successful. He treats his creations poorly however, and they kill him in the spring inside his cave. After four days Elder Brother used his immense power to rise from the dead and departed to the other side of the world to gather an army of warriors made by his younger brother. When Elder Brother returned to the lands of his own creations, the Akimel O’odham, he conquered and subjugated them. As an old man, he returned to his old home. Fearful to experience retribution once more, he turned his old home into a maze. When warriors did come to defeat Elder Brother, they became lost navigating the labyrinthine passages and suffocated deep within the mountain. The symbol may have begun purely as an analog for this creation story with the design depicting Elder Brother standing at the top of his winding home. Over time the story has come to mean something entirely different for the Pima and Maricopa. The maze has come to symbolize life itself to the Pima. The twists and turns are each moments of joy or anguish.
The Akimel O’odham (Pima) Basket Tray offered here is unconditionally guaranteed original and of the period. It is NOT a reproduction or modern recreation but an original Pima Basket Tray crafted in the fourth quarter of the 19th century. The Basket comes with our “no questions asked” return privilege and our lifetime guarantee of authenticity. It is guaranteed to be deemed authentic, original and as described by any qualified third party authentication service.
This rare and original, ca1890’s Akimel O’odham Coil Basket Tray is in very good condition. The weave is tight and the Tray is very attractive. There is damage to the outer edge of the Tray as can be seen in the scans below and some fading to the devil’s claw elements. There is a stain on the back side of the Tray as can be seen in the scans below.
A very rare and wonderful, ca1890’s Akimel O’odham / Pima Indian, hand woven, Man-in-a-Maze Coil Gambling Tray and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!
Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for a number of other outstanding, late 19th and very early 20th century Native American Indian Items which are also being offered for sale this week on eBay!!
Overseas shipping is extra and cost will be quoted at bidders request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax.
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Important Notes about Shipping Charges:
The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by eBay and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a .00 "packing fee" - the .00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the .00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.
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