Isabel Rorick is a master spruce root weaver from a long line of highly skilled and celebrated spruce root weavers that goes back to at least her great grandmother, Isabella Edenshaw (Haida, 1858-1926). For the last several decades, Isabel has worked to push innovation and recognition for Haida art on an international scale while still grounding her work in customary, historic forms. Isabel was taught to weave spruce roots by her mother, Primrose Adams (1926-2020), and aunt, Delores Churchill (1929-), whose extended family forms a core group of master weavers and teachers within various Haida communities in Alaska and Haida Gwaii. Isabel’s work is held in the collections of several major museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Seattle Art Museum, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

This beautiful rattle top basket features an intricate false imbricated design in light and dark grass stems. The top of the lid is decorated with a whirling design surrounded by a circular sawtooth pattern. The basket itself features a double-banded pattern with alternating triangles, mirroring the elements from the lid. The overall impact of the composition is a complex design that recalls the best 19th century work.