Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/143

138 variant that was seen in a few shallow baskets and which occasionally appears in the upright forms, as in plate, j. It resembles a gigantic pictograph upon an ancient altar near Sacaton, the largest pictograph the writer has seen in Arizona. Baskets e and f, and also a, b, and c, plate, contain designs that are perhaps the most abundant to be found in Pima basketry. The patterns are whorled frets with many modifications. The decorative effect is enhanced by the addition of the triangular element, to which the same name, mo’ûmvĭtcka, "triangle," is applied as to the terrace. It is seen to be an independent element completed by an extended hook. In plate, a, c, the triangle at the margin is relieved with white, but in b it appears in its more common form. In plate, f, the mode of origin of the triangle is seen in the terminal enlargement of a segment of the terrace. The triangle gives color balance to the whole, as in b, and also fills space due to the elements of the main figure being carried as a whole nearly straight to form an equal-armed figure on a spherical surface. These designs are usually in fours, though sometimes in threes and fives. Figure 61 includes two designs with dissimilar elements which adapt equally well rectangular designs to a hemispherical surface. The design, while clumsily made and unsymmetrical, is yet pleasing by the at least partial harmony of design and form. The motive in this design will be recognized by students of Californian basketry. The basket shown in figure 62 is a rarely beautiful one, having simplicity of design pleasing by its rhythm or repetition and colors well proportioned.

Plate contains several examples of good baskets. The second has many triangles, those along the margin suggesting a mode of origin of what is known as the "top-knot" design. The outer band on this basket has the appearance of having been added as an afterthought, but such was not the ease, as the device is not uncommon and occurs in the unusually fine basket shown in c. The latter is the