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| Some Mono baskets from the Hemmer Collection. |
The Hemmer Collection
of Native American Indian baskets and artifacts began when my grandmother, Lena J. Hemmer, was born Lena Long, on January
23, 1890 in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains near North Fork, California.
Baskets and basket making were a vital part of her family tradition and Mono tribal culture. Baskets blended practical
utility in virtually every aspect of daily life--carrying children, gathering, storing and preparing food—with unrivaled
artistry embodying the traditional, creative, spiritual and material wealth of the artist and her community.
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| Lena J. Hemmer with baskets c. 1905 |
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Baskets were made by hand of native materials like willow, sedge, deer grass, redbud, bracken fern roots and
pine needles. Traditional techniques, designs, shapes and a seemingly infinite palate of ornamentations were the elements
each artist shaped with care and precision into functional form. From the simplest to the most elegant, each basket represents
its maker’s unique expression of talent and vision.
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| Lena and family baskets c. 1905 |
History continues...
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