Hummingbird on Basket based on 1000 year old pottery shape: Paul St.John-Mohawk

Description

A hovering hummingbird is atop this basket by Paul St John, Mohawk. This basket with a distinct "shoulder" is based on pottery produced by his Iroquoisian ancestors - as long as 3000 years ago. Paul uses the same basketry technique to make this unusual shaped piece as he does his other coiled sweetgrass baskets - but he has added some interesting natural and dyed purple color porcupine quill design at the shoulder of this basket - a purple band with natural white quills above and below it. - Above this there are 4 bead/porcupine quill "dangles" - each with 2 bead/quill loops - purple dyed quills with solid purple and transparent green glass seed beads with a larger brass metallic bead at the top of the dangle and at the bottom center of each loop.
A ruby throated hummingbird of porcupine quills hovers above a purple flower with green stem on the lid of this coiled sweetgrass/birch bark basket. The hummingbird of natural white with green, red and black dyed quills and the flower are on an round birch bark medallion at the center of the coiled sweetgrass lid.
This round basket has birch bark at center of lid and used as the bottom - then coiled tidal sweetgrass on sides and at rim of cover. It is 5.25" high, the lid is 5.25" in diameter and the opening to the basket is 4" in diameter. The basket bottom is 5.5" in diameter, the widest part of the basket, at the shoulder is 7" in diameter The birch bark medallion at center top is 4" in diameter. There is a natural white porcupine quill inner border around the lid's birchbark medallion and a purple quill border at the overhanging lid's edge.
Last ph
oto in slideshow is of Paul and a friend.  -  Photo illustrates Paul's real connection with the creatures he depicts in his work  Paul St. John lives in Maine, his mother is Passamaquoddy, MicMac and Maliseet.  He grew up on the Mohawk lands in New York, his father's homeland and is an enrolled Mohawk tribal member.  - When I saw his work I knew immediately I needed to offer his great baskets.  While quill work and coiled sweetgrass baskets are  historically Maine Indian traditional crafts, currently no one in Maine but Paul St. John is actively practicing this craft.  -  Passamaquoddy basketmakers, Jeremy Frey and Otter, both have used some quill work on their baskets...  but quill work on coiled sweetgrass baskets are Paul St John's specialty.
Paul St John also makes a variety of dolls, birch bark containers-knife sheaths-barrettes, beaded necklaces, earrings and barrettes as well as Iroquois beading on pillows, needle cases, dolls and more.  He makes corn husk masks and baskets and - so much more....
Watch this store for more of his pieces.  Can't wait to see what he is going to create next.