Preserved Armadillo Shell Basket

Item Details

Unique and exotic, a nine-banded armadillo shell basket. Charles Apelt, a German basketmaker, first popularized the armadillo basket by displaying one at the 1902 World’s Fair. His family company, the Apelt Armadillo Company (including the Apelt Armadillo Farm, the only known commercial attempt at raising armadillos) was in business until the 1970s. An armadillo basket is generally a dried armadillo shell, including the tail and often the head. The armadillo shell sits on its back, with the tail curled up over the shell towards the head to form a handle. Armadillos are an amazing group of animals that originated in South America. In the United States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), which is most common in the central southernmost states, particularly Texas. Armadillos are small placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. The word armadillo is Spanish for ’little armored one. This basket is made from the nine-banded armadillo, which is not considered endangered.

Dimensions

Item #

13CIN021-143