A Ramona Balenzuela Mesa Grande/Mission rattlesnake basket

Mesa Grande/Ipai/Mission, (19th/20th century), finely woven, a globular basketry bowl centering a six-pointed star, the body of the basket encircled by a coiled rattlesnake, with a tag on the underside inscribed: 55 - Rattlesnake - best weaver.
height 4 1/2in, diameter 8in

The attribution to Ramona Balenzuela comes from John Kania. In personal correspondence from Kania to the collector, Kania writes: "... both the composition and very fine weave suggest one or two weavers both named Balenzuela. There was Maria Antonia Balenzuela and Ramona Balenzuela both from Mesa Grande near Warner Hot Springs. Given the extreme fineness of this basket, Ramona would seem to be the most likely weaver. There is a tag on the bottom of the basket reading: '55 - Rattlesnake - best weaver (Unfortunately, they neglected to name the 'best weaver.' Coincidentally, George Wharton James refers to Ramona in 1900 as 'the best weaver in that village.')"

Provenance
Purchased from the Kania-Ferrin Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, July 2008; a copy of a letter from John Kania to the collector along with a copy of the gallery's information sheet accompany the lot
Property from an Important Southern California Collection