Finely Woven Basket with Yellow Stone Handle

I picked this up at a thrift store for $3.00 and it came with a bunch of spools of thread. I could use some help figuring out where it is from and how old it is. I did some looking around and the most similar ones appeared to by from china. It measures about 8" across and the varnish has some age. The string holding the handle has dried enough to have broken. I did see a yellow stone that is used for carving, I don't remember if it was a jade or soapstone. I took a picture of the spools of thread if that helps with age. There appear to be 2 characters written on the underside of the lid. I wasn't sure of the orientation for the picture, so they may be upside down. As alway, thanks in advance for all of the help.

 

It's a Chinese sewing basket with a Peking Glass ring. Very popular early in the 20th C. This one is relatively plain.

 

We had one with a blue ring. My grandmother told me hers was a gift and came filled with chocolates. According to this, some were also filled with tea.

https://books.google.com/books?id=z...=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

Debora

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Those reels are worth something too. Fifties ish.

 

Do people want them to use the thread or do they like the old spools?

 

People buy old thread? I have five of my mother's sewing tins chock full of really old wooden spools and I have the 5" tall ones that they used in the shoe factory. I also have a few bobbins from the mill where I worked as a teenager.