Turtle Shaped Coushatta Pine Needle Hanging Effigy Basket black planter The striking contrast between the

The striking contrast between the wood of the matchsticks and their charcoal tips

while the pale blue underside of the neck has a texture suggesting waves

which similarly feature numerous figures and animals

) sculpted in relief

applied on the surface of a woven bamboo or wood object

Turtle Shaped Coushatta Pine Needle Hanging Effigy Basket black planter The striking contrast between theThis wonderful little turtle shaped Coushatta hanging effigy basket is made of coiled Louisiana native pine needles sewn together with raffia. (The Coushatta are a matrilineal society native to Southwest Louisiana recognized as a sovereign nation in 1973; today most of its thousand or so members live in Elton, LA, the seat of the tribal government.) I believe this particular basket may have been made by Marjorie Abbey Battise, a member of a family of