Antique Mono Basket from North Fork Rancheria

Collected pre-1920

Motifs of Diamondback Rattlesnake, Centipede, Coyote Tracks, from North fork Rancheria 

13.375" D x 6.5" H

Mint Condition

 Displayed on loan for many years at San Bernardino County Museum.

The Mono people, a Native American group from California and Nevada. Given your previous questions about Southwestern Native artifacts—like Papago baskets and Anasazi pottery—I’ll assume you’re interested in the cultural and historical details of a Mono basket from an antique period, possibly late 19th to early 20th century. Let’s explore this with precision and depth.

The Mono (or Monache) are split into Western Mono (near California’s Sierra Nevada) and Eastern Mono (around Mono Lake and Owens Valley), both known for their basketry within the broader Paiute and Miwok cultural sphere. Antique Mono baskets, typically from 1880 to 1930, are prized for their utility and artistry, reflecting a tradition predating European contact but adapted for trade by the late 19th century. These baskets were made by women using local materials—willow, redbud, bracken fern, and sedge—gathered seasonally and processed with stone tools or teeth for stripping.