80
FIG. 8 (left): Serape.
Navajo (Diné) artist,
possibly Bosque Redondo,
Southwest, United States.
C. 1865.
Wool; weft-faced plain weave,
interlocked tapestry weave.
177.8 x 126.4 cm.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,
gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family
Collection, inv. 2016.14.13.
Image courtesy of the Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco.
FIG. 9 (above):
Installation view of Native
Artists of Western North
America showing the
Navajo weavings gallery.
Image courtesy of the Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco.
ART ON VIEW
novation continued through the late nineteenth
century, as Navajo textiles became desirable
souvenirs to increasingly distant tourists thanks
to the burgeoning railway system.11 The selection
of weavings at the de Young shows these
stylistic shifts and acknowledges both the individual
artistic expressions and the broader cultural
practices of Navajo weavers.
Another grouping highlights smaller woven
treasures: nineteenth-century Pomo gift baskets.
Native California weavers are renowned
for their fi ne basketry and, like Navajo weavers,
many women still practice this art. Native
basket weaving requires exceptional skill, artistry,
and a deep knowledge of the natural world.
Weavers gather their materials—grasses, roots,
and switches—at specifi c times of year and from
special locations. Julia Parker, a noted Coast
Miwok and Kashaya Pomo weaver, said, “My
elders taught me that we have to be kind to
the plants. The plants were here way before we
were. So we have to learn to listen to them and
we have to learn to watch them. By watching
them and being respectful to them we will get
good baskets.”12
Among California baskets, bowls made by
Pomo weavers are especially fi ne.13 Of particular
note are those adorned with beads, shells, and
feathers (fi g. 10). Often called gift baskets, these
delicate bowls were lovingly woven and given to