A basket for review

My book on baskets really didn't get me too far so I thought I'd ask about this one. Actually there are two but before I bought them I figured I probably should figure out what they are. I only have this one poor photo but it's about 6" and really nicely made.

 

Unless you really love it ...leave it alone.
Taupou will know for sure but I'll say African.

 

I know even less about baskets than I know about jewelry, but I wonder if the abrupt end of the coil, seen on the right of the top rim, means anything? I have not noticed the "bitter end" so much on old N.A. baskets.

 

I was doing my best and kept trying to make it Zulu but I couldn't make sense of the diagonal pattern in the weave but I really struggle with many baskets. I would love to find it/they were NA but African was my first thought. Let me see if I can get the image a little clearer.

 

If it was NA .....I'd know.

 

I'd agree, definitely not Native American.

No Native American basket weavers use this particular construction technique. It's called a wrapped coil, with a wrapped stitch join. You can therefore see a space between the coils, and the wrapped stitch that joins the coils often makes an additional textured pattern or design on the surface.

This technique is used by some African tribes, and more commonly, in Mexico.

It's often difficult to positively identify some contemporary baskets, because they may be influenced by baskets from other cultures, and unless you know for sure what material it is made from, it may be hard to pin down.

The material is pretty much like the DNA of a basket. Everything else can be duplicated by an experienced basket maker anywhere in the world, but what it is woven from can narrow it down to a specific location. That is, if it is woven from traditional local materials, which are seldom exported. Raffia and rattan have been available on the market for years, and now with synthetic materials being used in basketry, it gets more complicated.

 

Thanks again for the great information. I didn't think it was NA but after that I was getting lost. I guess I needn't be to hard on myself for getting confused then.

 

Sometimes it's actually better to be able to recognize what something isn't. So many times people think an item might be something, and then waste a great deal of time trying to prove or confirm that it is, and either end up with a misidentified item (one that almost is, but just not quite), or a lot of wasted effort.

 

I agree with all you said but I will admit that too little knowledge tends to take me down all sorts of crazy paths. Sometimes I find my way out, sometimes I just wander in circles. Thank you so much for all the great guidance.