Fine Old Woven Round Basket with Black Walnuts

This basket has a unique round, tall shape with cute positioned handles on either side that have been wrapped twice. It was such a nice autumn day that I decided to gather black walnuts from our garden and place them inside the basket. Of course our squirrel decided to partake in the delicious nut he painstakingly removed so half of the shell was chosen to grace the top of the basket. It has a wonderful heart shape design as shown in image 6 and certainly adds folk art character to the overall look.

This basket was tightly woven possibly using skinny pieces of reed and has been kissed with a medium nutmeg color that is very pleasing. The extraordinary amount of detail that went into fashioning this basket is unsurpassed. The edge was formed by an unusual twisting technique that resembles a braid with strips woven over this area in a diagonal pattern to secure the weave, see image 3. This piece is a little out of round near the top.

The bottom has an area about 1" long and 1" high that is darker than the rest of the basket. There is also a break in the splint directly in the middle but does not hurt the integrity of this piece as shown in the last image.

The overall condition is very good without any holes or breaks in the weave, other than on the bottom as mentioned above. I stuffed this basket with paper and added a piece of contemporary calico sporting chocolate brown stylized flowers on a tan ground that gently lays over the top.

There are luscious decorating possibilities for this basket which also includes the holidays. Greens and berries can be tucked into the walnuts to create holiday cheer and sweet Annie along with Prairie grass can grace the top for springtime decorating. This piece can also be used in the laundry room filled with old clothespins and scraps of homespun. Have fun decorating and enjoy!

The basket stands 4 1/2" tall, 5 1/4" across the top and 5 3/4" across the bottom.