Mat: rivercane

Mat: rivercane

Basket making

Basketwork

Cherokee baskets

Handicraft

Traditionally, the Cherokee used mats made from rivercane to cover walls and floors, for decoration and insulation. Sleeping mats were also made and used to provide comfort and insulation. During outdoor ceremonies, mats were used to cover the ground or benches to serve as rugs or seating. By the early twentieth century, their production declined. Like other Cherokee basket forms, mats continued to be made but were sold and displayed as wall hangings. This large mat is one of a pair woven in a pattern known as Noon Day Sun; the design motif is repeated three times along the length of the mat. The patterned design was made by using rivercane that was dyed using native plants of the region. Typically, Cherokee basket weavers dyed rivercane with walnut for a brown color, bloodroot for orange, and butternut for a deep brown or black. The lighter tan is the color of undyed rivercane. The maker and date of this mat, which is in the collection of Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, are unknown.

Unknown

Artifact Collection

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

unknown

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

jpg

crafts (art genres)

StillImage

16237

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/16237

2009-06-29

All rights reserved. For permissions and use, contact Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc., Cherokee, NC 28719;

Qualla Boundary

Appalachian Region, Southern

150" x 36"(dimension)

Craft Revival