A Rare and Important Nutunutu Yokuts Pictorial Polychrome Coiled Storage Jar

with flattened base, expanding rounded body, flattened shoulder, short cylindrical neck, finely woven in sedge, redbud and bracken fern on a grass bundle foundation, with friezes of geometric designs, crosses, animals and human figures; attributed to Lucinda Hancock.

Colonel John G. Worth Collection

Earl Horter Collection, Philadelphia, PA

Walter S. Chattin Collection

Colonel George G. Greene

Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, November 1971, lot 34, color illustration

Acquired in 1991 by the present owner from Sandra Horn, Mill Valley, CA

Very good original condition;two missing stitches on the shoulder.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This is one of only six baskets known to be made in this unusual form, style and scale by Lucinda Hancock who was one of the last Nutunutu Yokuts; their territory was the south side of the lower Kings River. She was married to Ben Hancock who was half Choinumni and whose second wife, Minnie Hancock, was also an excellent basket weaver. For an image of Lucinda Hancock, circa 1928, working on a similar basket see Dick, Bates et al, 1988, pp. 12-13.

 

This basket was sold in 1971 as part of the landmark Green Collection sale at Sotheby's Parke-Bernet in New York. Colonel Green was a renowned surgeon in the Civil War but his observations on the brutalities and horrors of warfare, resulted in his leaving surgery and founding a patent medicine business. He ventured into other businesses including newspaper advertising and manufacturing with great success. The Colonel maintained a pioneer spirit thought out his life. He owned  two private railroad cars, in which he would travel the country. Green would spend the winter months in California, away from the rigors of the East Coast, and it was his wife who began to collect a few Indian baskets as they traveled the railroad across the continent. His children shared his interest in basket collecting and the Green family continued to collect through the 1930s.

Sotheby'swould like to thank Sandra Horn and Ari Maslow for their assistance in researching this basket.