Miniature Makah Trinkit Basket with Lid

ca. 1950

1.125" H x 1.75" D

Very Fine Weave with Strong Colors

In Very Good Condition 

Miniature Makah trinket baskets with lids are beautiful examples of traditional Native American basketry from the Makah people (also closely related to the Nuu-chah-nulth or Nootka), indigenous to the Pacific Northwest coast, particularly around Neah Bay, Washington State.

These small, lidded baskets—often called "trinket baskets"—were primarily produced starting in the 1860s as part of a cottage industry catering to the tourist trade. Makah weavers created thousands of these colorful, finely woven pieces through the 1930s and beyond, using materials like cedar bark, bear grass (or sweetgrass), reeds, and natural or aniline dyes. They feature intricate twined weaving techniques, geometric patterns, and sometimes pictorial motifs such as whales, birds, feathers, or other symbolic designs inspired by their maritime culture (whaling was central to Makah life).