Posted 5 years ago
Alan2310
(915 items)
Those are popular in my area, it's not happen often they are available, even to see, because peoples grab it very fast, this one show up at the Salvation Army on last Saturday, the way i found is very unusual, i was inside looking around when the person in charge of the outside carrying in item came in the store with the rolling car full of donation, it's appear that I know this friendly guy for long time and this is the same friendly guy that get the 3 Japanese Scroll painting 3 years ago, the basket just site on top of the cart when he pass me, I ask wait! can i see it ?, sure he say, i grab it to look and he keep rolling is cart on direction of the back store, i know what this mean, the rest is history, i ask from price, i get it for very cheap.
This could be only a tourist piece, but hey i love it in the first place, this basket look Vintage, very nice color, the construction is amazing, complex design.
CanyonRoad I hope you see this basket to get it's origin, thanks in advance.
This basket is 10 inches wide by 4.25 inches high.
As always, many thanks for your visit.
It's a nice basket, but it isn't Native American. It's Chinese, usually referred to as a "Chinese sewing basket," made of split bamboo, primarily for export. Older ones came with silk tassels, Chinese coins, and glass rings and beads decorating the lids.
At least on the West Coast, nearly everyone's mother and/or grandmother had one, filled with buttons, snaps, safety pins, and assorted sewing supplies. They are still showing up in estate sales, and once-in-while at thrift shops.
There is even a book devoted just to these baskets: "Chinese Sewing Baskets" by Betty-Lou Mukerji...if you want a reference to confirm this identification.