Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Open lattice-twined tray
Pomo (Mendocino County, California)
Not on view
Often labeled a "sifter" in the mistaken belief that women separated the coarse from the fine by shaking matter through its meshes, this tray is more similar to a colander. Its openings allow water to drain from wet foods, like seaweed, or enable air to circulate, preventing stored foods from becoming moldy. Although modest looking, such baskets are technically complex, requiring the weaver to twine additional horizontal warps at right angles to vertical foundation rods.
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