Washoe Polychrome Basket by Dat So La Lee (Louisa Keyser)

degikup, of globular form, very finely and tightly woven on a three-rod foundation in willow, bracken fern and red bud, with a series of vertical columns composed of stacked triangles, alternating with fields of stylized butterfly designs; two labels on the interior, one reads "LK #58/1; the other "LK about 1st Dec 1915."

Sold The Emporium Company, Carson City Nevada, December 1, 1915

Very good overall condition.
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.

The lot is accompanied by the original receipt of sale for the basket from The Emporium Company. On the receipt is written: "Interpretation of symbols in the decoration, as intended by the weaver. Our Men Are Always Happy." On the reverse of the receipt is a legend explaining the designs on the basket. The stacked triangles are identified as "Generation Marks," the H-shaped devices as "Butterflies" and the pairs of attenuated diamonds as "Men."

For a discussion of the Washoe basket making tradition and Dat-so-la-lee, see George Wharton James, Indian Basketry, Rio Grande Press, 1903, p. 61: "The Washoes are a small remnant of once powerful tribe that inhabited the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada in the region of Reno and Carson City."

Ibid, p. 115: "The 'queen' of the Washoe weavers is Dat-so-la-lee, a full-blooded Indian...whose work is wonderful in its shape, symbolization and weave. Though heavy and plump, her delicacy of touch, artistic skill and poetical conception excite admiration. Her hand is symmetrically perfect, her fingers plump and tapering and her nails beautiful 'filberts.' She is fully conscious of the sensations and emotions that her work arouses in the hearts of connoisseurs."