Teensy weensy handwoven baskets - 105 of them - some the size of small peppercorns...

[6658927]

I would love even a clue as to where to research these.  In our family since at least the late 1930's - some sort of natural fiber / not synthetic (I did a fiber burn test on stray threads from each color and all smelled like silk/hair with soft ash & absolutely no hard, melted balling.

The largest urn shaped ones are less than 3/4" tall & the tiniest are about 1/8" to 1/4" (same size as a black peppercorn... in fact some are too small to fit a peppercorn in them). The "urns" have a thin foil strip woven into them.

Any guesses or further questions welcomed...

[debora_34_]

I would suspect they're Mexican.  But they look as if they're made from fishing line.

Debora

[leathernlace]

If the test smelled like burning hair that could very well be what they are made from. I have a flat plaque type basket, the same age range, a little larger than yours, that is woven horse hair. Very difficult to do.

[taupou]

My grandparents brought some of these back from a trip to Mexico in the 1950s.  And I recently bought a big bag full, all sizes from smaller than a garden pea up to golf ball size.   Construction and material is basically the same.  They were represented as being Mexican, mid-20th  century.

[argon38]

Some Worthpoint records of eBay listings, for comparison:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-mexico-mexican-miniature-baskets-tiny-rare-2

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/lot-21-vintage-miniature-mexican-1020820612

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/worlds-tiniest-antique-micro-woven-539654012

[6658927]

Thanks!  This could be a good lead for me to at least figure out their origin.  My Mom was adopted at age 4 and raised in Portland, OR by folks old enough to be her grandparents & her Dad was a longshoreman so perhaps that is where they came from.

I normally deal in vintage clothing and am pretty familiar with fiber burn tests... the fiber used for these is not nylon - it burns as natural - and it's finer than even my husband's very lightest weight leader for fishing.

I truly appreciate the links and everyone who weighed in - I suspect they are from Mexico or Central/South America rather than my first guess as Asian.