Native American Passamaquoddy Urchin Basket

This is my new/old Sea Urchin basket, made by a member of the Passamaquoddy tribe. It was made somewhere between 1900-1910 and is 8 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 in height. Made with Ash (for the splints) and Sweetgrass that was made into tiny braids and then woven around the basket and woven into the top. There used to be a round finial but that has been broken off from too many pulls to take the lid off. But, other than the finial there is no damage. It has pretty much faded from any color on the outside, but the inside and bottom splints still retain the beautiful red color they were dyed so many years ago. These baskets were very hard to make because of the way the splints had to bend so much to get the "Sea Urchin" shape. Because of that the maker could charge more for them and not many were made. I now have 9 of this type of basket and will continue to look for more. If you got them, I want them...lol

Enjoy the pics. I am very happy to add this beauty into my collection.