Basket
Rectangular black ash basket lined with oilcloth, Canterbury, NH
Description
Large woven black ash splint basket. Rectangular shape with a steam-bent ash handle at each end. Basket is lined with remnant of a stenciled oiled canvas floor cloth.
Notes
The Canterbury Shakers, from whom the basket was acquired, stated that it was used to hold flower petals and herbs. The oilcloth lining may have come from the Enfield, NH community, which made decorated oilcloth tablecloths for sale. To learn more, read this blog post: https://www.shakermuseum.us/the-mysterious-basket-and-its-lining/