Cherokee baskets

Santa brought a set of tourist postcards showing the Eastern Cherokee in North Carolina. The photos are old, probably 1960s, but reproduced. Tourists can visit Oconaluftee, a re-enactment site where artists demonstrate traditional crafts etc. Like any tourist attraction it is likely pretty silly in places, but it may also inspire & educate kids. And there are genuine artists employed at such places....Southeastern native women have been making baskets for thousands of years but modern containers have made them art instead of utilitarian craft. Santa kindly brought me a basket as well, made by a Cherokee artist in Oklahoma. Thanks Mr Claus!!

Quimbaya

A wonderful card came today from friends in England...

A female gold figurine made by the Quimbaya civilization of Columbia, South America (approximately 600AD). Card text indicates this figurine is hollow and may have been used to hold lime (added to coca leaves). These objects were placed in burials and survived the Spanish treasure hunts. How this little object reached the British Museum is unknown. A fantastic addition to my South American indigenous cards!!