In 1977, Dale Chihuly had a pivotal encounter with a museum collection of Native American baskets. Struck by the way time and gravity had caused them to slump and warp, he was inspired to, in his words, “capture this grace in glass.” His Baskets embrace—rather than resist—gravity as a tool to create irregular, elegant forms that echo this early inspiration.

In the 2026 Pewter Blue Basket Studio Edition, two Basket forms are positioned off-center, their loose, intersecting body wraps heightening the composition’s visual unsteadiness. Meanwhile, the work’s serene blue and enclosed, nested forms suggest balance and steadiness.