Maine Native American Sea Urchin Basket, 1880-1900

New basket for my collection, it is called a "Sea Urchin" basket and it was made by a member of the Passamaquoddy Native American tribes. Both the Penobscot and the Passamaquoddy made Sea Urchin baskets but there were differences in the shape. The Passamaquoddy made theirs with a bend in the splints that was not as severe as how the Penobscot made theirs, and they can also have a double lashing on the rims of the lid and the body of the basket. I have Urchin baskets from both tribes and if you are looking at them next to each other, you can see the difference.

This came from an estate sale in New Hampshire and is fresh to the market, I love being able to find baskets that have not already made the rounds on the auction sites. Also, the "Sea Urchin" is my favorite type of basket to collect, there are not that many out there that are without damage. This was/ is a hard basket to make and the artist charged more for it because of that. The wood splints would crack under the pressure of having to bend so severely and having that happen during the making of a Sea Urchin basket could/did make the artists have to start all over again.

I have seen other Native American artists that are up and coming in and around Maine and Canada and I love that they are starting to bring back some of the old shapes and styles so that new people can buy them. But these young and bright artists are also taking those old shapes and styles and placing their own ideas into those baskets to make something brand new and they look great. I am happy that there are young and budding artists that are listening and learning from the Master Basketry Artists and they are keeping the traditions alive for new people (like me) to admire and buy from to add to our collections.

This basket is 7 inches in diameter and close to 4 inches tall, and it was made by using wood from the brown Ash Tree. This was/is the favorite and traditional wood that the Native American Wabanaki tribes used to make their baskets from. They would start by choosing the tree that they wanted and cutting it down. They then did the work of taking the bark off and pounding the wood, to splitting the wood into pieces they would use. To make a basket took a lot of hard work before they even started to weave a basket, and to be able to do the hard work and make something so beautiful really resonates with me. There was/ is so much heart and soul that these Native American artists put into every basket they make, I want to celebrate that in my collection and show them off to anyone who cares to look.

There was a round finial for the lid but it has separated and was lost. The color was originally Green for the wider splints that make up the shape of the basket, but also a deeper Burgundy from the tiny splints around the basket. There is also a few natural tiny splints that show inside the basket at the center and bottom. The Burgundy has lightened to a wonderful polychrome hue and the Green has also lightened and it looks really great. The inside shows how the basket looked when it was purchased brand new, the bright colors of green, burgundy and natural and how beautifully they came together. There is no damage at all to the basket itself, except for the round finial that would have been on the lid. For as old as this basket is, it has really stood the test of time and someone sure took care of this one.
Enjoy the pics :)