Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Three-rod coiled ceremonial washing basket
Not on view
Young women used coiled baskets of this distinctive shape to hold water for cleansing themselves when they were in seclusion during menstruation, particularly as part of the ceremony marking their coming of age. Babies were washed in similar coiled basketry basins during their naming ceremonies. It was important for these special baskets to be made by a woman with "good luck," who had no history of illness.
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