Attributed Edmund Youngbird (NC, 1922-1995), Cherokee "Man in a Coffin" Storage Basket

Eastern Band Cherokee, band North Carolina, single weave rivercane with natural dyes (walnut or butternut root), planter form with flared neck over a squared base, decorated in angled "Man in a Coffin" designs beneath five Chain pattern bands, and featuring the artist's distinctive cross-brace buttress to the base interior, unmarked.

15 x 14 x 15 in.

Private Collection, Greensboro, North Carolina

Edmund Youngbird was one of the few male basket weavers in the Cherokee community. Born in the Wolf Town community on the Qualla Boundary, lands owned by the Cherokee people, Edmund's grandmother, Sally Ann Stamper, and his mother, Lizzie “Nannie” Youngbird were both weavers of baskets and taught "Eddie" the tradition. Edmund was one of four boys, sons of Lizzie and Saughee Youngbird, growing up in the 1930s during the hardship of the Great Depression.

Edmund specialized in working with rivercane, having mastered both the single weave and double weave techniques. Like many Cherokee craftsmen, he entered his work in the annual Cherokee Indian Fair, winning many prizes.

Good estate condition; some light dust soiling to interstices.