Louisa (Lasyeh) Francisco Yokut Gambling Tray
1857-1953
Yokuts, an exceptional polychrome gambling tray, of shallow circular form, worked with alternating encircling bands of concentric diamonds and human figures clasping hands, the centermost band of stepped open-center diamonds.
Height 2” Diameter 30 3/4”
Provenance: ex-Collection of Alice Henderson, Springville, CA
Collection of Bob Adams, Tucson, AZ acquired from the above in the late 1980s
Property from the Collection of Alexander Schwed, San Francisco, CA, acquired from the above March 2003 and purchased for 250,000.-
For a biography of the weaver best recognized as "Mrs. Dick Francisco", see Garfinkel, Alan P., editor, California Indian Basketry; Ikons of the Florescence, 2021, Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA, p.35:
"Louisa Francisco is known today as one of the finest and most important weavers in the history of California basketry...
She wove on grass-bundle foundations, using traditional Yokuts design elements such as water-skaters, flies, quail plumes, rattlesnake bands and most notably humans, and even butterflies. Her weaving style appears to have been unaffected by some of the wider trends characterizing the Florescence - although she clearly took advantage of the newly developed markets of non-Indian buyers to expand and perfect her artistic talents.
She is most famous for her superb gambling or gaming trays, which rank with the greatest masterpieces of Native American basketry, some reaching diameters of 32 inches and requiring more than a year to make."
Illustrated: California Indian Basketry; Ikons of the Florescence, 2021, fig.47, p.42
Art Loss Register certificate provided #S00254130
1857-1953
Yokuts, an exceptional polychrome gambling tray, of shallow circular form, worked with alternating encircling bands of concentric diamonds and human figures clasping hands, the centermost band of stepped open-center diamonds.
Height 2” Diameter 30 3/4”
Provenance: ex-Collection of Alice Henderson, Springville, CA
Collection of Bob Adams, Tucson, AZ acquired from the above in the late 1980s
Property from the Collection of Alexander Schwed, San Francisco, CA, acquired from the above March 2003 and purchased for 250,000.-
For a biography of the weaver best recognized as "Mrs. Dick Francisco", see Garfinkel, Alan P., editor, California Indian Basketry; Ikons of the Florescence, 2021, Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA, p.35:
"Louisa Francisco is known today as one of the finest and most important weavers in the history of California basketry...
She wove on grass-bundle foundations, using traditional Yokuts design elements such as water-skaters, flies, quail plumes, rattlesnake bands and most notably humans, and even butterflies. Her weaving style appears to have been unaffected by some of the wider trends characterizing the Florescence - although she clearly took advantage of the newly developed markets of non-Indian buyers to expand and perfect her artistic talents.
She is most famous for her superb gambling or gaming trays, which rank with the greatest masterpieces of Native American basketry, some reaching diameters of 32 inches and requiring more than a year to make."
Illustrated: California Indian Basketry; Ikons of the Florescence, 2021, fig.47, p.42
Art Loss Register certificate provided #S00254130
1857-1953
Yokuts, an exceptional polychrome gambling tray, of shallow circular form, worked with alternating encircling bands of concentric diamonds and human figures clasping hands, the centermost band of stepped open-center diamonds.
Height 2” Diameter 30 3/4”
Provenance: ex-Collection of Alice Henderson, Springville, CA
Collection of Bob Adams, Tucson, AZ acquired from the above in the late 1980s
Property from the Collection of Alexander Schwed, San Francisco, CA, acquired from the above March 2003 and purchased for 250,000.-
For a biography of the weaver best recognized as "Mrs. Dick Francisco", see Garfinkel, Alan P., editor, California Indian Basketry; Ikons of the Florescence, 2021, Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA, p.35:
"Louisa Francisco is known today as one of the finest and most important weavers in the history of California basketry...
She wove on grass-bundle foundations, using traditional Yokuts design elements such as water-skaters, flies, quail plumes, rattlesnake bands and most notably humans, and even butterflies. Her weaving style appears to have been unaffected by some of the wider trends characterizing the Florescence - although she clearly took advantage of the newly developed markets of non-Indian buyers to expand and perfect her artistic talents.
She is most famous for her superb gambling or gaming trays, which rank with the greatest masterpieces of Native American basketry, some reaching diameters of 32 inches and requiring more than a year to make."
Illustrated: California Indian Basketry; Ikons of the Florescence, 2021, fig.47, p.42
Art Loss Register certificate provided #S00254130