Large-ish and Very Fine Late 19th C. Nootka/Makah Native American Lidded Basket mechanical valenting Drawing itself paper size is

Drawing itself paper size is 3"x3"

but when I am out hunting for things I look at everything I come across in search of all things good

which makes it feel all the more so

so I am more inclined to think made for cutting leather or perhaps some type of clay or composition material than pressing into soft dough

Hiram Campbell Merrill  (1866-1958) was a Boston-born painter and engraver

Large-ish and Very Fine Late 19th C. Nootka/Makah Native American Lidded Basket mechanical valenting Drawing itself paper size isI will never get over my love of Nootka Makah Native baskets from the Pacific Northwest Coast, considered some of the world's finest baskets, and this is an old one, late 19th century, dated based on materials used (exclusively bear grass and cedar bark, with no raffia) and the manner of the rim and plaiting of the underside. The weave on this one is very fine and tight, and though the brightness of the original color has faded (as evident from