**Originally Listed At $800**

Native American, Northwestern United States, Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Aleutian People, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A fine lidded basket that is hand woven from grass and decorated with vibrantly dyed wool. The artist likely used dried wild rye and constructed the piece by twining to strengthen the form, and the sprouting flower and geometric motifs were added during the weaving, and not after, in a technique known as "false embroidery; ?winding the wool around the outer weft-strands. The baskets with tight weaves could take up to a year or more to create and were used to harvest and store edible plants and fish, and later used to exchange with Russian fur traders. This is a large and significant example! Size: 11.5" Diameter x 12" H (29.2 cm x 30.5 cm)

During the WWII Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands, the US military forcibly evacuated native people to internment camps with incredibly poor living conditions. Pre-war baskets are highly valued by museums and collectors, preserving history as well as the fine skill of Aleutian weaving that was almost lost during this period.

Provenance: private Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA collection

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#178742

Tears to the rim of the lead and around the knob base. Several tears and small holes to body. Some fading to wool, but embroidery and weaving is overall fair to good condition.