Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Shay Family Depression Glass Vase Jar Basket

Preview image of work. , Shay Family Depression Glass Vase Jar Basket 37376

2018.13.5

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Shay Family Depression Glass Vase Jar Basket

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Artists

Artist Unidentified (Penobscot) ; [formerly attributed to Artist Unidentified (Native American)]

Title

Shay Family Depression Glass Vase Jar Basket

Creation Date

n.d.

Dimensions

8 1/2 x 6 1/4 in. (21.59 x 15.88 cm)

Object Type

textile/natural fiber

Creation Place

North America, United States, Maine

Credit Line

Anonymous Gift

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2018.13.5

Leo and Florence Shay, as well as their extended family, became one of the most prominent basketmaking families of the Penobscot Nation in the early twentieth century. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Shays began weaving baskets over depression glass jars to create unique forms, like this example. Shay family weavers decorated these forms with Hong Kong cord, an imported rope of twisted sea grass, rather than traditional sweetgrass. This example features round handles on the side and the Hong Kong cord woven into a chevr on pattern, details that further suggest it was made by a member of the Shay family in the mid-twentieth century.