Antique Paiute Tus; Water and Seed Basket

ca. 1890's

Size 11.75" H x 9.25" D 

Wonderful Cordage lugs with graceful neck and coiled rim finish.  Wear at rim with a vertical crack and rim loss as pictured, with some crumbled pine pitch inside.

In Good Overall Condition

Antique Paiute baskets, crafted by the Paiute people of the Great Basin (Nevada, Eastern California, Utah), are renowned for their intricate weaving and utilitarian designs, often dating from the late 1800s to the 1930s. These baskets were made using techniques like coiling and twining, with materials such as willow, sedge, bracken fern, red bud, and devil’s claw. Common forms include cradle boards, water jars, burden baskets, seed jars, beaded baskets, winnowing trays, and ollas, many of which served practical purposes like carrying goods, storing grain, or holding water (when coated with pitch).