Cherokee Miniature Basket Set Mary Jane & Ramona Lossiah (Mother/Daughter) 1994 for Sale

Cherokee Miniature Basket Set Mary Jane & Ramona Lossiah (Mother/Daughter) 1994 For Sale

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Cherokee Miniature Basket Set Mary Jane & Ramona Lossiah (Mother/Daughter) 1994:
$450.00

The Cherokee Miniature Basket Set featuring Mary Jane & Ramona Lossiah is a handmade set of baskets crafted with 100% organic botanical dyes and hand-split Appalachian Maple curls. This set of baskets showcases traditional Cherokee craftsmanship and design, with a single-wall diagonal twill weave pattern. The baskets were created by the mother/daughter team of Mary Jane Lossiah & Ramona Lossiah, known for their expertise and connection to the Native American culture. This set of baskets is a unique and collectible piece originating from North Carolina, United States.
Offered as a rare, museum-quality, and exceptionally well-documented set, this lot features two authentic Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) miniature handle baskets. Crafted by a celebrated maternal lineage of master weavers from the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina, this pairing represents the multi-generational transfer of Cherokee material culture.The larger miniature basket was woven by the highly prominent master artisan Mary Jane Lossiah (d. 2002), whose works reside in prominent institutional archives. The smaller companion piece was woven by her daughter, Ramona Lossiah. Both pieces feature absolute, ironclad provenance and remain in pristine, collector-grade condition.Technical & Material Details

The Mary Jane Lossiah Miniature Handle Basket: Masterfully constructed using a tight, flawless single-wall diagonal twill weave (herringbone twill). It is woven from hand-split and pounded Appalachian maple curls—a material historically favored for fine miniatures due to its smooth flexibility at a tiny scale. The basket showcases two iconic, traditional Cherokee botanical dyes: black walnut (Juglans nigra) for deep earth tones and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) for warm, aged ginger-orange tones. Features a hand-shaped wooden drop handle secured with tightly wrapped stabilizers and expert cross-lash rim wrapping.
The Ramona Lossiah Micro Handle Basket: A remarkably tiny, structurally precise companion basket that borderlines a micro-miniature scale. Woven by Mary Jane's daughter, it utilizes natural and walnut-dyed maple splints, echoing her mother’s construction style. Weaving a functional handle and executing tight geometry at this minuscule scale demonstrates extraordinary tension control and technical mastery.

Provenance & Documentation

Mary Jane Lossiah Basket: Retains its highly desirable, original vintage Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. tag (issued via the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board). The tag is hand-inscribed with the object name, material (Maple), dyes (Walnut & Bloodroot), and a historical original price of $8.00.
Ramona Lossiah Basket: Accompanied by its original Medicine Man Indian Crafts tag (Cherokee, N.C.) certifying it as a "Genuine Cherokee Indian Handmade Article." The tag is hand-signed by the artist and explicitly dated 8/2/94.

Institutional SignificanceBaskets from the Lossiah family lineage are highly sought after by collectors of Native American art. Their historical contributions are recognized nationally; pieces by Mary Jane Lossiah and her family are preserved in the permanent archives of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and have been highlighted in definitive regional exhibitions celebrating contemporary Cherokee basketry.Condition ReportBoth baskets are in pristine condition. There are no broken splints, split corners, or loose weavers along the fragile baseline corners or the cross-lash rims. The handles are fully structurally sound, firm, and secure. The organic dyes display a beautiful, authentic mellowing consistent with proper preservation in a smoke-free, light-controlled environment.THESE WILL SHIP PRIORITY MAIL WITH INSURANCE Related Items: