Rent basket, ca. 1910

Rent basket, ca. 1910
  • MMN Item 80365
  • Zoom

Description

This rare sweet grass basket shaped like a pumpkin was woven by a Penobscot Indian. The Penobscot Indians came to Friendship every summer to gather sweet grass along the shore by the Jameson & Wotton Wharf. At the end of the season, they would give a basket to Walter Wotton as "rent" for allowing them to set up camp for the summer. Over the years Walter Wotton ended up with a substantial collection of these baskets.

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