Hupa Winnowing Tray Basket

ca. 1887

1.875" H x 13.375 x 14" D

Hand Woven in Tan and Dark Brown Colors with Diamond Geometric Designs

In Very Good Condition with Separating Weave and Missing Part of the Rim with Warp Wave

The Hupa (also spelled Hoopa) people are a Native American tribe from northwestern California, traditionally living along the Trinity River. They are renowned for their exquisite basketry, particularly twined baskets made from materials like hazel shoots, pine roots, willow, and overlays of maidenhair fern or bear grass.

A winnowing tray basket is a shallow, open, tray-like basket used in traditional food processing. It serves primarily for winnowing (tossing grains or seeds in the air to separate them from chaff) and sifting acorn meal, as well as serving foods like salmon. Hupa trays are typically twined with simple, geometric patterns or overlays, distinguishing them from the more coiled styles of southern California tribes (e.g., Pomo or Hopi).