Native American Miniature Sea Urchin Basket, circa 1880

This is a Sea Urchin basket, made by a member of the Passamaquoddy Native American tribe and it was made somewhere around 1880/1890. While I have baskets from so many Native American tribes in the United States and Canada, the baskets that come from the East Coast tribes are my very favorites to collect from. And from those baskets, my favorite shape is the Sea Urchin.

This Urchin Basket is a true miniature, every part of it is made just like the larger ones are. The shape is copied from a usual sized basket all the way to the tiny round finial on top. This Urchin Basket is 3 inches in diameter and 1 and 3/4 inches in height. The color is still great on this basket, it was very well taken care of by the previous owner. She kept it out of direct sunlight and in a curio cabinet to keep the dust off. The woman who sold this to me told me that it belonged to her mother and they were downsizing her belongings, mother was moving into an assisted living arrangement.

This basket was made with splints from a Brown Ash tree and Tidal Sweet Grass that comes from all over on the coast. It is lashed with a splint from the Ash tree around the top and bottom rims. I am happy to have this little gem in my private collection now, enjoy the pics :)