Penobscot Miniature Blueberry Basket by Kim Bryant

This basket was made by Kim Bryant of the Penobscot Tribe in 2001. Usually I only collect baskets that were made before the 1920's, but lately I have been also interested in the new ones too. This beautiful miniature Blueberry basket is only one and a half inches in diameter and two and a half inches in height (including the stem). Made of brown ash , traditional basketry material of the Maine and Eastern Canadian Indian basket makers, it has been dyed a gorgeous deep blue. And the "leaves and stem" have also been dyed as well, a nice color of brown/purple, and the weave around the stem to attach it to the lid are tiny splints of Ash as well. This also has plain tidal sweet grass wrapping the rim of the basket and the lid,. It looks like you have found the giant of all blueberries, and you just want to take a bite out of it. A wonderful addition to my collection, enjoy the pics :)

On a side note, The Brown Ash Tree is taking a horrible hit due to the infestation of the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle. Native to Asia and Russia, it is thought that the beetle hitched a ride in a box coming in to the United States from another country. It is possible that our generation will be the last to see live Ash Trees, unless something can be done to eradicate the beetles to save the trees. Thousands and thousands of trees have already had to be cut down and burned because it was too late to save them. For more information, search "Emerald Ash Borer Beetle".