Ceremonial cap, which could be from a tribe in North West California. Circular vegetable fibre basket with a concave base and geometric decoration in browns and black. It is made of several types of material: a foundation of hazel sticks, then the conifer or spruce root. This top region is in triple weave, which is also used as a band to separate the designs. On the top of the cap is a frog design, in the middle is flint, and the design element on a slant is a worm design. The black is from maidenhair fern, the brown is Woodwardia fern dyed with Alder bark, and the light colour is bear grass. The red colour on the cap could be more specific to the Karuk people, but all tribes use it.
Women wear caps all the time. They are hard to make and are usually made by more advanced weavers. Women do this type of weaving. It is taboo for men to do it, and men make things like fish traps that have much courser weaves.
