Nuu-chah-nulth and Makah pictorial trinket baskets are finely woven with a double warp wrapping so that the design is visible on both the outside and inside of the basket. Lidded round or square trinket baskets were a nineteenth century innovation to take advantage of the non-native market. This lovely oval example depicts whaling scenes on both the walls and lid of the basket; each canoe has a crew of eight, and each crew has successfully harpooned a large whale. The basket’s colours are beautifully preserved, and the stitch count is about thirty per inch.

References: For a discussion of Nuu-chah-nulth and Makah basketry see Allan Lobb, Indian Baskets of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska (Portland, OR: Graphic Arts Center Publishing, 1990), pp. 40-46. For a similar, larger basket see Sotheby’s Auctions, NY, May 19, 1998, Lot 612