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Gambling tray

Mrs. Dick Francisco Native American
ca. 1900
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Yokuts women used decorated trays to play a dice game called huuchuish. Mrs. Dick Francisco, a master of weaving, created this extraordinary example, one of the largest and most finely woven of its kind. It incorporates imagery of human figures, flowerlike clusters, and diamond-shaped rattlesnake patterns. She wove for the curio trade, and the tray’s pristine condition suggests that it entered a private collection upon completion.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Gambling tray
  • Artist: Mrs. Dick Francisco (Native American, Yokuts, 1857–1953)
  • Date: ca. 1900
  • Geography: United States, Tule River Reservation, California
  • Culture: Yokuts
  • Medium: Marsh grass, bracken fern root, redbud
  • Dimensions: D. 1 × Diam. 31 in. (2.5 × 78.7 cm)
  • Classification: Basketry-Containers
  • Credit Line: Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing