A Haida spruce root basket made by prominent Haida artist Primrose Adams of the Raven Clan around 1970’s to 1980’s. Primrose descends from a rich line of notable Haida artists. She inherited her basketry tradition from her mother, Florence Davidson and her grandmother Isabella Edenshaw, wife of renowned carver Charles Edenshaw. Primrose first learned to weave from her mother-in-law, Selina Peratrovich, when Primrose was 51 years old. Her daughter, Isabel Rorick, learned to weave around the same time and carries on the tradition of Haida basketry weaving with work also painted by her brother, Alfred.

Primrose’s basketry can be found in museum and gallery collections across North America. Similar basketry woven by Primrose can be found at the Burke Museum in Seattle, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. She has been included in numerous publications on Haida and Northwest Coast basketry and recognized as influencing other prominent Haida artists such as Richard Davidson, who has honoured her in several of his works. Adams’ basketry and artistic influence were recognized in 2011 with a British Columbia Creative Lifetime Achievement Award for First Nations' Art.

This basket is finely woven from spruce root in a plain twining style with a band of “spider web” pattern near the rim integrated with angular lines of skip stitches. There is a single row of three strand twining separating the band of patterning from the body of the basket. The rim edge is neatly finished to the inside of the basket with a braiding technique.

—Sarah Raven

Thank you to Holly Churchill for identifying the maker of this basket.