Tina Charlie

Degikup polychrome basket made by Tina Charlie in 1926. Won 2nd Prize at the 1926 Yosemite Indian Field Days, and sold in 2005 for $248,250

Tina Charlie (born Tina Jim in Mono Lake, California; 1869–1962) was a Native North American basketweaver. Affiliated with the Kucadikadi tribe, she wove baskets for her own use and that of others in the tribe.[1] An innovative weaver, she incorporated materials and motifs that were not common in the Mono Lake Paiute basketweaving tradition. In the 1920s, she produced fancy three-rod woven baskets for non-Indian markets and continued making them until her death. In the 1880s, she married Young Charlie, a Paiute man from Yosemite. She was married to the same man as her sister, Nellie. She lived with her sister for the rest of her life, and they likely influenced each other's craft.[1]

In 2006, one of Tina Charlie's baskets sold for a then-record price of $336,250, three times the presale estimate. Another of her baskets sold for $248,250. Both were collected by Ella Cain of Bridgeport, California in the 1920s, and were formerly displayed at the Bridgeport Museum.[2]

  1. ^ a b Matuz, Roger, ed. (1998). St. James Guide to Native North American Artists. Detroit, MI: St. James Press. pp. 112. ISBN 1-55862-221-7.
  2. ^ Native American Art Auction Sets Records, Tops $2.8 Million, Feb. 7, 2006. Accessed 10/21/2019