ESTATE SALE FIND - WHAT IS THIS??!! RESCUE BASKET? WAY TO KEEP YOUR CATCH ALIVE WHILE FISHING?

I found this at a estate sale I went to today - they were using it as garden art. When I asked they also had no idea what it was, but for $20 I grabbed it!

My first thought was a child rescue cage (that a helicopter would use in mountain or water rescues) and right behind that I thought maybe it was something you'd put in the river or lake or whatever body of water you were fishing in & whenever you caught something you could drop it in it so it could breathe and swim around - and basically keep it alive longer so it was fresher when you were ready to cook it or leave?
I wouldn't be surprised if both are wrong! Any ideas?
PS - it measures 35"Long x 19"Wide x 16"High (at base which is largest areas)
Thank you!

 

I don't know, but I'd love it for flowers!

 

That's really cool!!!

 

Nothing to do with fishing.

Perhaps an over-size flower gathering basket missing its handles?

 

Great looking basket! I thought maybe for crabbing but don't know. It would be great for so many things!

 

Oyster/Clam basket???????? Needs some handles

 

Better be a body builder to pick that up if it is full of oysters or clams.

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!

 

What a cool shape! To me it looks like it was a basket with a specific purpose. Certainly for collecting or storing something...but what?
Leslie

 

Hey, how come the Clam basket looks just like a potato basket?????? A tisket a tasket ..............

 

lol!

 

Hi all - hope it's ok, I'm putting this to the top again hoping someone will see it for first time & be able to tell me what it is so I can list it for sale.
Thanks again for all the suggestions (I think this is a first where no one here knew absolutely what is was!)

 

It's just such a lovely basket, charming shape and fantastic size. I don't know what it was made for, assuming there was a specific purpose. I'm just throwing this out in case it stirs someone's memory.

Could it be an industrial covering for something, a light or fan blade or something?

 

It's really too big to carry anything heavy and it's too open for small items. It could just be a decorative item and not meant for any special purpose.

 

What should I call it in a title for eBay or Craigslist or FB marketplace?

 

Useful to keep the logs beside the mantle!

 

I thought that, but it would leave a holy mess on the floor , and be dangerous should a spark fly up and find it..

 

I also surmised about the fish.....but they could jump out of it, if it were in any depth of water...

 

Very cool!!! Great find

 

do u no what it is ?