-40%

small Handkerchief or Pillow Basket, Iroquois c/1910-1930 PERFECT Intact basket!

$ 36.29

Availability: 14 in stock
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Modified Item: No
  • Tribal Affiliation: Mohawk
  • Provenance: Ownership History Available
  • Condition: Perfect... age patina... color fade on sides and top (the sweetgrass used as weavers was and remains brown - just the small areas of splints that show on sides and the rim wrap of basket and lid & wrap ring handles have some color fading

    Description

    This is a small Iroquois handkerchief or "pillow basket" (It looks like a well stuffed decorative/throw pillow).  It was also sometimes called a "Victorian Star Handkerchief Basket"... elegant name for elegant basket form
    This is one of the most difficult NE Native American basket shapes  to make - and this one is made perfectly and has no damage to the structure... as mentioned it is perfect but for expected age fading of dyed elements (see description of where fading occurred above)
    It is 4" square and 1.5" high with 2 wrapped ring handles making the closure.  These are about 5/8" in diameter.  The lid (and the opening) is 2.25" square. (quite small for a handkerchief basket)  This is the ONLY small vintage handkerchief basket I have ever seen (in the over 4 decades of appraising, buying, selling, collecting viewing 10's of thousands of Wabanaki and Iroquois basketry.  These are usually 6" to 9" square and proportionately higher.
    This is woven on a foundation of  ash splints with some of the weavers, most of those on the top, being plain sweetgrass (unbraided).  The foundation and what
    ash splint
    weavers are used here were dyed the medium green favored 1910-1930's.(see photo of bottom) The rims of the lid and of the opening are of sweetgrass wrapped with a thin ash splint.
    It has been several years since I have seen a handkerchief/pillow basket such as this available for sale.  I have never before seen an Iroquois one.... that I am aware of (it is from an Iroquois family who is downsizing belongings - family says this and other baskets were made by Mohawk great grandmother and have remained in family until now)   ----- This is a very rare basket as these handkerchief/pillow baskets were always uncommon .....  and now nearly impossible to find on the market -  and I have never seen a vintage small one ...  ever.  SO rare!!