At first glance the bare interior of this lovely basket seems faded; there is no evidence of the striking coloured design work that still has vibrancy on the exterior. But this is precisely as the skilled Tingit weaver had intended, using a technique known as “false embroidery.” The basket itself is woven upright, in from the base to the rim, rather than upside down like Haida baskets of similar styles and size; this allows the tightly woven fibres to slant down to the right. The three horizontal rows of false embroidery are wrapped directly into the horizontal weft strands of the basket, up and to the right, only ever visible on the basket’s exterior. The clean finish of both the weaving and the false embroidery make for a beautiful, functional basket.

References: For a detailed introduction to Tlingit and Haida spruce root baskets see Sharon Busby, Spruce Root Basketry of the Haida and Tlingit, (Seattle: Marquand Books / University of Washington Press, 2003). See also Allan Lobb, Indian Baskets of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, (Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Centre Publishing Co., 1990), pp. 23-27.