Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Spring 2008 - (Page 34) MELISSA DARDEN (CHITIMACHA, BORN 1968) Louisiana Double Weave Lidded Cigar Case with Mouse Track Design, contemporary Split cane, commercial dye; height 5-1/4 inches, width 3-1/8 inches, depth 1-1/2 inches JOHN AND SCARLETTE DARDEN (CHITIMACHA, JOHN BORN I960, SCARLETTE BORN 1963) Louisiana Basket Bowl with Fish Scales Design, 1990 Split cane, commercial dye; height 3-5/4 inches, diameter 7 inches DARDEN FAMILY (CHITIMACHA, CONTEMPORARY) Louisiana Elbow Basket with Rabbit’s Teeth Design, contemporary Split cane, commercial dye; height 5-1/2 inches, width 6-1/2 inches, depth 2-3/8 inches The three baskets illustrated here represent some of the range of styles being made today by the Darden family in southwestern Louisiana. The cigar case on the left is a form that Chitimacha baskermakers have woven for at least a century. The small chevrons in red and black that are woven over the natural horizontal bands are “mouse track” designs. The basket bowl, a traditional form, has a wide band of chevrons across the center representing fish scales. 34 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES\Spring 2008 While echoing the shape of Choctaw elbow baskets, the basket on the right has no handle, which would have been necessary for practical use. Melissa Darden chose instead to make this basket more a piece of sculpture than a replication of a traditional and functional form. The row of natural, staggered diagonal dashes woven across the body of the basket represent the “rabbit’s teeth.”
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