Another Small World Story concerning Native American Art

A few days ago, we decided to post a couple of items from our inventory to eBay.

One of them was a Choctaw river cane basket by Rosie Joe. The buyer turned out to be someone who had previously owned the basket. He recognized it when he saw it listed in our eBay store. Upon completion of the transaction, he notified us of his prior involvement with the basket. Here are some excerpts from what he wrote us.

"Thanks, I'll tell you a little more about it. I sold items regularly to OIAG and this was one of the items I should have kept, but accidently (sic) got included in a group package that I had put together for them. I could not get it back because they told me it was not available for sale.

I had met Rosie Joe some years before that and had purchased many of her baskets from her. I had helped her collect river cane in Eastern Oklahoma and watched her prepare the cane and start weaving baskets. One day as I had gone to pick her up in Shawnee Oklahoma to take her to Eastern Oklahoma to gather river cane, she came out carrying this basket and gifted it to me for my help to her.

I was upset when it got away from me, and am glad it is returning home.

Rosie Joe also went by the name Rosie Lewis, never signed her baskets that I am aware of, and came from Eastern Choctaw family where her mother and grandmother taught her to weave baskets.

Thanks again for the opportunity given to me, to regain this lost basket back into my now very small collection."

This one of the things we love about trading in tribal art, whether it's Navajo folk art, Zuni carvings, pueblo pottery, African tribal masks and figurative carvings, Australian Aboriginal art and artefacts or Arctic/Inuit carvings, there is a friendly circle of shared interests and values.

We are glad to include you, dear reader, en the circle.