Tlingit Native American Basketry Wrapped Bottle, Early 20th Century handmade cutout both as tokens of Taoism

both as tokens of Taoism (shooing away evils) and with the practical function of brushing away the flies

which I think have just a terrific form

The lighting conditions for my photos was not very good

6 1/4" diameter at widest

Just the face measures 6 1/2” straight across when measured from the backside

Tlingit Native American Basketry Wrapped Bottle, Early 20th Century handmade cutout both as tokens of TaoismI have a hard time wrapping my head around the process of so finely wrapping a bottle in woven basketry, but Tlingit basket makers of southeast Alaska were exceptional basket makers, using spruce root to create pieces like this, which I believe dates to sometime between 1900 1920s, with natural dyes for the color. Though showing a fair amount of loss, this is a very good example, with the bands of bold, quintessentially Tlingit geometric patterns