December 2, 2006 – February 11, 2007
Special Exhibition Gallery
Featured a collection of Native American basketry from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, MS, collected at the turn of the century by Laurel resident Catherine Marshall Gardiner. The collection contains baskets produced between 1850 and 1910, by artisans representing more than forty North American tribes from across the continent. Today’s native basket-makers work within a tradition that is centuries old. Although Native basketry traditions suffered in the dislocations and epidemics of the 18th and 19th centuries, many tribes are reviving the old techniques and encouraging the development of weaving skills in the community. Most basketry traditions are closely tied to the land; baskets are made locally of available fibers and dyed with local plants.
