Page 8 - yukibasketry_kelly1930

424 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. [Vol. 24

Start of the Coil

There is nothing especially distinctive about beginning' a Yuki
coiled basket. In the majority of cases, pliable material is used at
first, the heavier rods and splints not being introduced until several
coils have been sewn. Such a beginning is rosette-shaped in external
appearance, and often there is a hole of considerable size in the center.
In one or two instances, this central opening has been plugged with
a strand of weft fiber, which has been knotted, thrust through the hole,
knotted on the other side, and trimmed off close.
When the start is more intricate, the external appearance is that
of crossed or diagonally lashed weft elements enclosed within a
2
square, superficially resembling that figured by Barrett for Pomo
twining.

Progress of the Coil; Interlocking of Stitches
As one looks at the interior bottom, Yuki coiling is seen to proceed
in counterclockwise fashion. In other words, progress is left to right
with the exterior or convex surface toward the worker. Stitches do
not interlock with those of the preceding row. They are frequently
but not consistently bifurcated by those of the succeeding coil, and
this must therefore be rega:rded as a more or less accidental feature,
not one consciously produced. Its random character is further sug-
gested by the fact that the stitches on the interior of the basket a:re
much more frequently split than those on the exterior.

Structure of the Coil

The structure of the coil foundation may be summarized as follows:
Baskets
1 rod, several welts ---------------------------------------------------------------- 31 ( 40%)
2 rods, single welt ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1
2 rods, several welts -------------------------------------------------------------- 11 (14%)
3 rods ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 ( 38%)
Welts only -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
Variable __________ ______________________________ _____ ___ ... ____ _ ___ __ _ _ ____ _ __ ___ _ 3
78
2 Pomo Indian Basketry, UC-P AAE, 7: pl. 15, fig. 1, 1908.