Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-26
WOMAN EXPERT IN BASKETRY
Miss Bissell's Work at the Natural
History Museum.
INTERESTING FEATURE OF CRAFT
Tier Department, the origin OF Tex
tiles, Chiefly Concerned with Bas-
ket weaving Of savage and
semi-CtvtliHed Races.


NEW YORK. Sept. 1s.-At the Natural
History museum there Is a new department
unique to this country and headed by a
woman.
Up on the top floor OF the museum build
ing Miss Lois Bissell has her office and
workshop. where she spends her days
weaving baskets into the history Of man
kind.
The technical title Of Miss BlsselI's
branch Of work is the origin Of textiles.
and basketry fits properly into It. for bas-
kerry Is the legitimate ancestor Of all loom
woven fabrics.
In the past data from the field have
never had a scientific complexion. Curios
were garnered. as curios merely. Now
accurate information is sought. the bear
ing on life and culture OF the producing
tribes, every point OF significance worked
out that relationship Of tribes, evolution,
migrations and racial characteristics may
be proved. For instance. some OF the
VIGOROUSLY lazy tribes had a fondness for
using materials which could be easiest
procured and were the easiest handled.
letting severely alone those which might
work up into more substantial and more
beautiful garments at the expense OF a
tfine more labor or trouble. The same
vi " AMA AHa ~ ShA~A 49,
the same tribal characteristic Strong
artistic bent Is displayed elsewhere, a
natural sense OF design and proportion,
form and color, and here the beautiful Is
worked out with utter disregard of the ma
terials nearer at hand and easier Of use.
In one corner Of Borneo alone there are
thirty-seven different basketry weaves.
Some weavers work with the materials on
the knees, others with the materials on the
ground and knees drawn up under the
chin, while other times the materials are
swung from trees or on a stick. Wonderful
examples have been brought from the Phil
ippinesg but more important still photo
graphs have been brought representing
every step in the work from cutting the
hollow. cylindrical bamboo. up to the final
painting and as a result. the Filipinos may
eventually find themselves possessed Of
some hitherto unknown relatives rather
far removed and widely scattered. OF four
peoples working at mosaics fashioned from
colored feathers the Maoris used twined
weaving as a foundation. the Pomo Indians
of California used coiled basketry, the Ha-
waiians used on kind OF netting and the
Aztecs another.
Perhaps nowhere has more beautiful work
been discovered than among the South
African tribes, whose strong rattan shields
are miracles OF symmetry and proportion.
OF equally artistic natural capacity are the
natives of the Aleutian islands, just off
the Alaskan coast. whose output is char
actt by delicate designs and fragile
construction in contrast to the holder work
Of the Africans.
Among the latter nearly everything con-
ceivable is to be ouEd- combs whose long.
stiff. radiating propgs resemble a fan, but
are excellently adapted to the character of
the hair It Is to be used upon: skirts of
dimlnutive length braided into a waistband,
which would admirably adapt themselves
to the needs OF our highly civilized ballet;
face protectors TO be worn when penetrate
ing the Jungle, which resemble nothing so
much as the masks OF our base ball catch
crs, and most curious OF all, immense POM
poms attached to the back OF the women's
belts as a decoration.
Tho technique Of different weaves may
be traced around the world. The simplest
forms OF plating with no foundation
checked. twilled and latticed. are found In
Alaska, Mexico and the Philippines. WeaY-
ms up and down on a foundation is ex-
emplified In specimens from Picking and
from the Canadian Indians. Twined double
weaving and a peculiar style of wrapped
weaving, one element wrapped about the
colled foundation and stitched, connects to-
gether peoples so remote geographically az
the Shoshone Indians and the African
Barctseland tribes. Everywhere simple
twisting precedes, gradually becoming more
and more elaborate until It is coiled upon
a foundation.
The present output Of the American In