We are an authorized, direct-from-the-publisher retailer of NEW books. Our titles are ON HAND and available for immediate shipping. Table of Contents JUST BEFORE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, Catherine Marshall Gardiner of Laurel, Mississippi, read an article about Native American baskets and found herself tempted by the possibility of collecting them. At first she planned to collect only contemporary baskets, but, she said, "the lure of old and fine work specimens soon gained the ascendancy." When she embarked on this project, she little realized that she would become one of the premier collectors of the period, often called the golden age of basket collecting. By 1923, when she donated her collection of almost five hundred baskets to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, she had amassed one of the most representative collections of North American Native basketry in the southeastern United States. Basketry is an infinitely variable medium--baskets can be simple, unadorned utilitarian objects or works of great complexity, made to be beautiful but not used. Yet even the most practical basket, well made, can be a thing of beauty wherein form follows function, design is influenced by centuries of tradition, and materials reflect the region in which the weaver is grounded. Whether fancy or practical, tiny or oversized, every basket tells a story, has a purpose, and is a work of art. More importantly, each basket comes from a pair of Native hands which created a woven treasure that would stand the test of time. A close look at the varieties of Native American basketry reveals the cultural history of the tribe of origin as well as the expression of a weaver's artistry both important parts of our nation's history. By Native Hands: Woven Treasures from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art takes this close look at the LRMA collection of Native American baskets, which encompasses a stunning array of styles, colors, materials, and techniques. New research on the collector and the collection are presented in essays covering each major North American culture region. More than two hundred archival and contemporary photographs, many of them previously unpublished, tell the story of this important collection. A full checklist of the collection and comprehensive bibliographies from each author will aid scholars, collectors, and weavers who wish to explore this rich body of material.
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