Akimel O'odham Basket (20th century), woman once known

SUMMARY
Treatment of a round, flexible, slightly flared coiled basket with a two-tone geometric “butterfly wing” pattern created with light and dark-colored sewn elements encircling the foundation material.

This treatment is described with the permission of the owner.

BACKGROUND
Akimel O’odham basket makers, traditionally women, make coiled baskets from warps of cheul (Salix nigra, or willow) and ‘ihuk (also spelled ihug, Martynia frangrans, or devil’s claw) around wefts of ‘utwak (also spelled uḍvak, Typha augustifolia, or cattail). Akimel O’odham baskets often have a grass bundle foundation, making them more flexible than baskets with rod foundations. The light willow and dark devil’s claw create a strong color contrast, with which the basket weaver can create a variety of bold designs.

When received, the basket had suffered significant loss and was unstable. Most of the top three coils were missing, as were many stitches throughout. The foundation remained flexible, but the stitches were very brittle, with cracks and breaks throughout, and they were prone to detachment even with careful handling. The color had shifted significantly overall, partially from the soiling, but mostly due to severe light damage.

TREATMENT
The basket was dry-cleaned overall by carefully vacuuming the interior and exterior surfaces on a very gentle setting with the mouth of the vacuum covered with Vellux, a flocked polyurethane fabric.

Of the several combinations of fill materials and adhesives tested, Japanese tissue with wheat starch paste was selected for its well-tested compatibility, re-treatability, and consulted Akimel O'odham basket maker Joshua Yazzie’s stated preference for “natural” materials being applied to the basket where possible. Mends were accomplished with a mixture of two techniques: one involved facing a broken or cracked stitch with thinner Japanese tissue paper (likely Gampi fiber) toned to match the stitch with acrylic paints and applied with wheat starch paste as an adhesive; the other involved bridging a broken stitch from behind with thicker Japanese tissue paper (likely Kozo fiber), similarly toned to match. These mends were applied throughout the basket’s surface.

To stabilize the top coil, polyester thread was sewn into the basket in the area to reinforce its structure. While not a “natural” material, this synthetic thread was chosen for its strength, color, and fineness, as a rougher thread like the available cotton might have pulled on the delicate stitches during the sewing process. These thread stitches sometimes overlap basket stitches strategically to help hold broken stitches in place. While this means that in some areas, the threads are visible on the surface upon close inspection, this was considered less potentially damaging to the visual impact of the basket than the possibility of losing the loose top coil. The broken stitches in the false braid were filled with the stiffer Japanese tissue coated with acrylic gloss medium to mimic the burnished shine of the devil’s claw. The foundation was stabilized with loops of fine Japanese tissue toned to match, which better integrated into the basket as well as the visual language of the other repairs.