125 year old (or OLDER!) Wabanaki Basket.  With the wide wide ash splint band at mid upper basket -  this would have been called a "band" basket.  It would have been  used for storage -  food stuffs, clothing etc.  It is square to round in shape and some splints have been "swabbed dyed" using indigo dye.  Swabbed/painted with the dye only on the exterior of the splint.. (doesn't show inside) -  that is how valuable the indigo and most other "dyestuffs" were then.  This could have been made in early 1800's.

For it's age - this is in pretty good condition. 

This is 11" diameter round at top, 8" square at bottom and stands 8" high.  Made on a foundation of undyed brown ash splints which is the traditional material of Wabanaki confederacy basketmakers (5 tribes of the NE woodland - Abenaki, Maliseet, Micmac (Mi'kmaq Canadian spelling), Passamaquoddy and Penobscot ... residing in Maine, NE Canada and the Abenaki in Vermont).

Wide band was swab dyed with indigo - blue - other dyes of the time were coal tar black,  chromium yellow and more   These are non-aniline dyes  derived from minerals and plants.   Non-aniline dyes are one way to date really early Wabanaki baskets - aniline dyes were introduced in the late 1860's and by1880 the ease of using aniline dyes meant that they had almost universally displaced mineral and vegetal dyes in Wabanaki basketry.  Here the dye has been swabbed on the outside of the alternating foundation splints (so it shows as contrast against the wide weaver/band splint and others.  There is also a very thick hand carved bentwood rim. Made on a foundation of undyed brown ash splints which is the traditional material of Wabanaki confederacy basketmakers (5 tribes of the NE woodland - Abenaki, Maliseet, Micmac (Mi'kmaq Canadian spelling), Passamaquoddy and Penobscot ... residing in Maine, NE Canada and the Abenaki in Vermont). The narrow weaver splints are 1/8" wide(except for the 1 wide band splint at 1.75" wide).  Narrow weaver splints ... as well as the use of wide "band" splints indicate a basket that is likely pre-1880.  As does the form of square bottom to round top -  Most later baskets were either square, rectangular, oval or round from top to bottom.   

While I place historical value any basket that is pre-1900 and especially ones that could be 1850 or older -  I recognize that the condition of this decreases its value --- so I have placed a low opening bid on it  and hope it finds a home with someone who appreciates it...