Lovely Penobscot Sweet Grass and Ash Splint Small Basket with Marvelous Color transferware plate Interior pages in excellent

Interior pages in excellent

so I'm guessing it originally held candy

Very good presumed antique condition

with black painted shoes that just peek out below the belly of the mule (I assume) on the reverse side

both in terms of the arching handles that close to form a loop

Lovely Penobscot Sweet Grass and Ash Splint Small Basket with Marvelous Color transferware plate Interior pages in excellentAn especially lovely and finely crafted small Penobscot basket, with more color than one usually finds on these. I don't believe antique but it definitely has some age to it, with the color on the dyed, woven splint of the lid softened with age, more so than on the sides and in clear contrast to the underside of the lid. With finely braided sweet grass alternating with the splint to create wonderful patterning. I've looked at a whole lot of these