A total beauty of an antique Wabanaki basket, specifically Penobscot or Passamaquoddy, very finely woven of sweetgrass (a sacred material) and splint (poplar I believe), with braided and twisted sweet grass handle across the lid. I come across a good number of Wabanaki baskets, and have bought and sold a fair number, but this to my eye is as beautiful as they come, and an early one, late 19th/very early 20th century I believe. These were made for the tourist trade, as sewing baskets. Just look how finely and tightly woven, and with the dyed splint inside and on the underside showing the brilliant original bright red color--beautifully softened on the the exterior. With a super rich patina, and in near perfect structural condition with just a couple of splint breaks just barely visible around the perimeter of the lid, side by side, very minor and not affecting the integrity of the basket. Gorgeous.
10" diameter x 2 5/16" t. Very good condition, gorgeous patina, very sound and stable, two minor splits at the perimeter edge of the lid as documented, barely visible.
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