100 year old Penobscot Sweet Grass Splint Basket Rare Yarn Holder

Description

100 year old Penobscot
Sweet Grass Splint Basket Rare Yarn Holder
Measurement:
Height: 4 ½” inches (11.4 cm)
Diameter: 2 ¾” inches (7 cm)
Item Description
Item Description
This very old special yarn holder basket was made by the Penobscot tribe. It is made with sweet grass and splint ash wood and has the unique feature allowing wool, yarn or thread to exit from the lid. This feature is accented with a star and accent all made of splint ash wood. The star is a signature noted as a Penobscot Star because they used this pattern, sometimes it had four points but usually it has five points. Thus lovely basket has achieved a warm nut brown patina on the exterior and remains bold and bright on the interior you can see inside the star accent and basket weave on the bottom is still red. The bottom is in excellent condition. Ash edging and loop weave along rims all excellent. The lid has some wear around the edge consistent with its use, you can tell where it was opened time and again to place the yarn inside; considering its age, about 100 years old, I would say it stood the test of time quite well. This round basket is 4 1/2” in diameter and stands almost 3” tall. Please review the photos for condition and composition of this wonderful rare Native American artifact. Email with any questions.
We had added all these Northeastern tribe baskets and sewing accessories to our collection by acquiring them from Pie Galiant and Bob Self’s Collection of American folk art (see featured article from the home section of the New York Times). Because she restored antique quilts she had a fondness for these sewing items, they shared the same antiquity as the quilts and could have been used by the very makers of the quilts she worked on The Knopf Collectors’ Guides To American Antiques Folk Art : Paintings, Sculptures & Country Objects the 1983 edition. I have included a photograph of the collection that was sold at auction. While small covered sweet – grass baskets are still made today, yarn holders like these have not been in fashion since about 1920. Because it is a form no longer being produced, these are well worth collecting….”
I am offering up some of the best items from my collections. I have been collecting artifacts for over 28 years and I have been a member of the EBay community since 1998 - Please Bid with confidence.
Buyer info:
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Packaging and shipping is done with care and completed in an expedient manner, shipping days are Tuesday and Thursday for gas conservation. If you have a special request we will do our best to adjust the schedule to accommodate your schedule.
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It is my intention to be as clear and accurate as possible. In the event I make an error, I will always do my best to remedy the situation.
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Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Please read the item description and submit any questions you might have for clarification of the item for sale prior to bidding. I can provide additional photos at the buyers request to assist you in your purchase.
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Buyer should contact me within 3 days of auction ending, this assists in the expedient shipping.
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Payment must be received within 5 days of auction ending
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The coffee cup is used for scale only.
Ref:
Wabanaki, Abenaki, Sweetgrass, Splint Ash Wood, Penobscot, Native American, artifact, Sweet Grass, sewing basket, yarn holder, wool holder
Origin:
Extending across most of northern
New England
into the southern part of the Canadian Maritimes, the Abenaki called their homeland Ndakinna meaning "our land." The eastern Abenaki were concentrated in
Maine
east of
New Hampshire
's
White Mountains
, while the western Abenaki lived west of the mountains across
Vermont
and
New Hampshire
to the eastern shores of
Lake Champlain
. The southern boundaries of the Abenaki homeland were near the present northern border of
Massachusetts
excluding the Pennacook country along the
Merrimack River
of southern
New Hampshire
. The maritime Abenaki occupied the
St. Croix
and the
St. John's
River
Valleys
near the border between
Maine
and
New Brunswick
.
New England
settlement and war forced many of the Abenaki to retreat north into
Quebec
where two large communities formed at
St. Francois
and Becancour near Trois-Rivieves. These have continued to the present-day. There are also three reservations in northern
Maine
(Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet) and seven Maliseet reserves located in
New Brunswick
and
Quebec
. Other groups of Abenaki, without reservations, are scattered across northern
New Hampshire
and
Vermont
.
The word "Penobscot" originates from a mispronunciation of their name "Penawapskewi." The word means "rocky part" or "descending ledges" and originally referred to the portion of the Penobscot River
between Old Town and Bangor. The tribe has adopted the name
Penobscot Indian Nation
.
At the time of contact with the first Europeans the many woodland nations covered on area stretching from the
Atlantic Ocean
to the
Mississippi river
encompassing the
Great Lakes
and from the sub- arctic to the
Ohio River
system. The area was peopled by many small independent groups. All were noted for their expertise with bark, wood and plant fibers. They constructed containers, wove, coiled or twined baskets of twigs, bark, roots or grasses. Braided or sewed mats of bulrushes cattails or cedar bark. Inspired with European contact by new materials and ideas the woodland peoples rapidly developed and produced customary objects for trade among themselves and with the newcomers. These tribes crafted many trade goods, one of their specialties were sewing baskets and sewing accessories. Pin Cushions, needle holders, scissor holders and thimble baskets are among the many items woven in sweet grass and splint ash wood, birch bark and split cedar. We had added all these Northeastern tribe baskets and sewing accessories to our collection by acquiring them from Pie Galiant and Bob Self’s Collection of American folk art (see featured article from the home section of the New York Times). Because she restored antique quilts she had a fondness for these sewing items, they shared the same antiquity as the quilts and could have been used by the very makers of the quilts she worked on.
The Pie Galinat and Bob Self Collection was featured in:
The Knopf Collectors’ Guides To American Antiques
Folk Art : Paintings, Sculptures & Country Objects
Robert Bishop and Judith Reiter Weissman, Michael McManus, and Henry Niemann
1983
Collections
“The following individuals, galleries and institutions kindly allowed us to reproduce objects from their collections…..
Pie Galinat and Bob Self, New York City: 183,242,245-8,251,253,254,269,273,281,331-335.”
New York Times Home Section
Thursday July 3rd 1980.
You can find Pie Galiant in the Directory of Restorers in the book
Collecting American Country
by  Mary Ellisor Emmerling.  1983
New York Times
Thursday August 16th 1984 Hanging fine old Quilts…
The article also providing her as source for quilt restoration. And Bob Self for frame construction for hanging quilts.