Provenance Information

[Possibly Merrin Gallery, New York]; Private Collection, New York; [Sotheby’s, New York, Pre-Columbian Art, Nov. 23, 1998, sale no. 7224, lot no. 22, reproduced]; purchased by Assen and Christine Nicolov, Seattle, Washington

Exhibition Information

None known

Publication Information

None known

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Today utilitarian and domestic objects such as textiles, wooden objects, and baskets—like this Tiwanaku basket—are rare because of the arid western Andean climate in which they were made. This coiled basket is an exceptionally well-preserved example. However, due to their materials and relatively low historical value, it is difficult to trace the provenance of such pieces. This basket cleared a search conducted by the Art Loss Register. The acquisition adds to the Seattle Art Museum’s collection of basketry from the Americas, and is the first basket in the Ancient Americas collection. It could be nicely shown with several of the museum’s Tiwanaku textile fragments, forging a connection between the two genres.