Macah Northwest Coast Native American Bear Grass Basket with Whales Child's painting And what a chair it

And what a chair it is

Plenty of wear and some rusting

I'd guess dating to the late 19th century

One eyeball (looks to be black glass) lost

Macah Northwest Coast Native American Bear Grass Basket with Whales Child's painting And what a chair itNative American baskets of the Pacific Northwest Coast are my very favorite baskets of all, woven of bear grass, with cedar bark around the lip and plated into the bottom, and often featuring figurative imagery relating to whaling, as is the case with this small one from the Makah Tribe of the Northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, with three whales circling around the perimeter. The design on the lid suggests both rays of sun