Braided Sweetgrass and Ash Splint Fine Penobscot Lidded Basket geometric shapes The interior shows the unfinished

The interior shows the unfinished bark on the sides and an unfinished wooden bottom

with the silver plate polishing up nicely

then painting a thin red line for the lips

These three hand-carved wooden swallows

If not to be used as a palette

Braided Sweetgrass and Ash Splint Fine Penobscot Lidded Basket geometric shapes The interior shows the unfinishedThis is a lovely, quintessential example of Penobscot basketry, featuring a wonderful interplay of patterns and textures. The lid is woven primarily with tight sweetgrass braids, punctuated with two bands of woven ash splint nearer to the center framing one band of unbraided grass, then a nice fat braid across the top for a handle. With lid removed, the bottom half reveals a rim of blue green naturally dyed ash splint, also visible at the center of