$240.00
Handmade pine needle and raffia basket with an Oregon Myrtlewood bottom measures 9 x 5 x 3, priced at $240. Signed by the artist, the late Oregon artist Myrna Austin. This basket has four low handles, each featuring a delicate openwork section in a wheel shape.
The weaving of baskets is as old as the history of humankind. Baskets are a part of human cultural heritage and have been made by Native Americans and many other separate cultures all around the world for many thousands of years. There is general agreement that Native American Indians have created some of the finest baskets in history.
Humans have created baskets and vessels for food, water and tools since ancient times. Today, pine needle basket makers are still using the original coiling and stitching method that Native American people once did. These baskets are made by coiling and stitching the soaked pine needles together. The stitching material on these pine needle basket is raffia. A blunt tapestry needle is usually used to stitch the coils together. Various decorative stitches were used to create patterns on the side of the basket.
To maintain your basket, use a very gentle vacuum cleaner; one-inch paint brush, feather duster or lint-free cloth to remove dust and dirt.
Myrtlewood is a fine-grained figured hardwood, very tough, that grows in a small region of the Pacific Northwest coast. The color of the wood varies from cool taupe gray to gold, cream, yellow, and brown shades.
