Maine Sweetgrass Basket With Bentwood Rim

Sweetgrass and Ash basket, this one is just gorgeous. It was made sometime in the late 1800's and my thanks to whomever had this basket for so long. They took immaculate care of this beauty.

I am pretty sure that this basket was made by a Maine Native American tribal member, probably the Penobscot or Passamaquoddy. Or even the Maliseet. It's size is almost 8 inches in diameter and about 2 inches in height. Ash was used for the splints and bottom rim, along with the finial on top of the basket. Sweetgrass was prepared and alot was braided very small while some was left loose. The Ash splints were dyed with a natural vegetable dye, the color on this basket is wonderful and kind of like a muted olive Green. Of course, the top color has faded a bit and the parts that were on the bottom or covered up by the top still have great color on them. The braided Sweetgrass was woven in and around the basket, and Bentwood was used to shore up the bottom part of the basket rim- placed on top of the Ash around the bottom rim. The loose Sweetgrass was used around the top rim and top and bottom were then looped into place using strips of Ash. Ash was also used to make the oval finial for the top, and it has never been used to pull the top off of the basket. That is why it is still there and not broken off like so many other old baskets.

This is one of the best baskets I have in my collection right now, it looks like it was made 10 years ago and not way back in the late 1800's. I am very happy to have in my collection, enjoy the pics :)