A rare 19th c. miniature Taghkanic basket in original oyster white paint. 
A miniature size has been employed down to the smallest known size with a swing handle, the construction techniques of traditional Taghkanic basketry were employed identically to its larger working counterparts. According to "The Legend of the Bushwacker Basket," examples such as this were not manufactured for utilitarian purposes but rather playful sport of basket makers vying to make the tiniest example. While not necessarily the smallest known, it is the smallest of the swing handle variety produced without having to sacrifice any element of construction in the pursuit of the smallest size. 
The stanners (or uprights as commonly referred) are of oak wood and scraped thin. The body is woven of very delicately thin, black ash wood, lightly scraped and formed in a traditional profile but with an even more tightly vertical outline. Rim lashing is also made of black ash, scraped thin, and coiled twice over chamfered rim ribs, ending  with being tucked on the exterior under one of the weavers
The handle system is especially pleasing in itself; two tiny ears are woven into the body with notched anchoring and extremely thin tapered ends. The handle itself is made with blocked ends and pared down kerf marks coinciding with a rounded underside. The blocked ends are slightly proportionally oversized when compared to full-size working examples and imply a very strong implication of the fingerprint of quality in Taghkanic principles.
Scarcity in size, scarcity in color, quality techniques of manufacfure, exceptional surface characteristics, and mint condition are the best terms to describe this basket, meeting all expectations to qualify as an ideal example of best-of-kind. A true rarity where all these characteristics meet at a crossroads.
Taghkanic region of NY. Ca. 1880. 4 1/2"T OAH.