Early 20th C. Basketry Covered Carved Barrel with Interior Drawer and Relief Carved Flowers bone bat The pink one is signed

The pink one is signed

But how not to love them

Maybe it was never finished

resulting in the loss of a portion of the outer shell on the face

with just some light wear to the black stain

Early 20th C. Basketry Covered Carved Barrel with Interior Drawer and Relief Carved Flowers bone bat The pink one is signedI have seen (and bought and sold) exactly one other basketry covered carved barrel of this sort, that one dated 1922 and from Maine. This one I found in PA, but I might bet it was made by the same person, or some small community of individuals such a curious hybrid, and so particular, with the basketry seeming Native American, I'd speculate Mi'kmaq, and the rest very naive American folk tramp art. The basketry on that one was somewhat more elaborate,