Arthur W. Erickson, Inc.

Three new baskets just added to our site! It’s enjoyable to see multiple baskets from different tribes together as you can really start to see and understand the nuances within the craft. Our first basket is an almost perfectly round vessel from the lower Klamath region with beautiful geometric designs in red woodwardia fern. Secondly, we have a much different basket. This one comes from the Salish people of Canada, and it's not only very large but features a lid and imbricated triangular design work. The lid of this basket also has a hole in the center, making it very unique. The final basket we have to share with you is different again, but no less interesting. On the larger size as well, this basket is Yokut in origin and decorated with a complex pattern of crosses and steps.

Which of these is your favorite?

1 -3: Lower Klamath River Globular Basket, $475.00.
4 - 6: Large and Beautiful Canadian Salish Basket, $875.00.
7 - 9: Large Yokut Basket, $1,250.00

arthur w erickson inc oregon portland antiques native american indigenous

This beaded bag is exceptionally beautiful and we are so excited to share it with you! Made by the hands of a talented Santee Sioux beader, the white buckskin back is decorated on both sides with wonderful floral designs made up of tiny cut glass beads. The bag is also incredibly soft, the buckskin almost like velvet, and the soft color really shows off the colors of the beads. There is a 1 ½” fringe around the sides of the bag and the opening is scalloped to add additional visual interest. This bag is in great condition with no bead loss and is possibly one of the nicest Santee Sioux bags we have ever seen.

Dated to the 1910s, 9 ¼” long with fringe and 6 ¾” wide with fringe. Available on our website.

$465.

arthur w erickson inc oregon portland antiques native american indigenous

We have focused heavily on the incredible blackwork pottery of Santa Clara and San Ildefonso Pueblos, but that is far from the only surface design that Pueblo potters excel at. Polychrome design refers to vessels that are painted with multicolor paint, or slip. These paints are traditionally made from watered down clay with the color coming from natural vegetable and mineral pigments. The polychrome tradition is highly iconic and instantly recognizable as originating from the Indigenous tribes from the American Southwest with many “western” aesthetics and designs borrowing freely from the motifs found on Native pottery.

This pot, called an olla, features a beautifully complex design pattern in red and black on a cream base. The natural color of the clay is a deep red that contrasts wonderfully to the design. In excellent condition, this pot was created by the Jemez artist Mary Tosa. Mary would have gathered wild clay and minerals before processing them to create clay and slip that she then used to build this pot.

This pot is 5” tall and 6” wide.

$150.

arthur w erickson inc oregon portland antiques native american indigenous

There is nothing more charming and sweet than the face of a seal. Often called “water puppies” by people who interact with them on the regular, these animals are intelligent, playful, and highly respected within Inuit culture. The seal is deeply interwoven with arctic mythology because of their importance to the Indigenous lifeway among the ice. After a seal is killed, the spirit is respected by using every piece of the animal, and artistic depictions of the animals or the hunt itself show us just how highly regarded these animals are. They are not just discarded in favor of one aspect of the carcass, but life itself.

This seal carving was made from walrus ivory, another important arctic animal, and is a wonderful homage to a creature that is so important. The sweet personality captured by the artist and measuring only 2” long (including the mount) really inspires a fondness in us for this little portrait.

Available on our website.

$135.

arthur w erickson inc oregon portland antiques native american indigenous art