Sewing basket

Artist/Maker: Unknown, possibly from the Wabanaki People of Maine, or Asia

Object Date: Unknown, possibly late 19th century

Materials: Grass, natural dyes and silk or rayon

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Description: The object is a small, round, woven sewing basket consisting of a body and lid. The body and lid are plain twined, with one warp engaged at each weft crossing.

Condition: The object is in overall poor condition. While the basket only has minimal surface dirt and grime, there is significant damage that affects its structural integrity. Condition issues include, losses to weave structure on lid and body, loss to rim of body, planar deformation to lid and dye fading.

Treatment

Purpose of Treatment

The primary goal of treatment is stabilization. As part of the study collection, this basket will receive a fair amount of handling and thus structural stability is critical to prevent further damage. As the surface and interior are in overall good condition, minimal cleaning will be necessary and interventive treatment will be focused on mending and loss compensation to improve structural stability.

Treatment (completed)

1. Pre-treatment examination and photodocumentation.

2. Surface cleaning.

3. Humidification and reshaping of basket body and lid.

4. Loss compensation on lid and body.

5. Mending of broken splints.

5. Post-treatment photodocumentation.

6. Construction of new housing using archival materials.