Historic Fancy Baskets

Between the 1870s and the 1930s, Wabanaki basketmakers produced hundreds of thousands of baskets—sturdy work baskets destined for use in the fields and forests, and fancy basket forms for use in the home. Baskets designed for every possible household function were created from brown ash and sweetgrass. They could hold scissors, thimbles, needles, shirt collars, stationery, handkerchiefs, ladies’ gloves, calling cards, and tatting thread. Even desk blotters were made and sold to visitors to Maine’s coastal, lakeside, and mountain resorts, as well as to Mainers.

Fancy baskets featured splints gauged into standard widths, loose or braided sweetgrass, and elaborate curl work. Splints were dyed with commercial aniline dyes in popular colors of the period—which helps to date these works.