A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehair,

baleen Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...

, or metal wire can be used. Baskets are generally woven by hand. Some baskets are fitted with a lid, while others are left open on top.

Uses

Baskets serve utilitarian as well as aesthetic purposes. Some baskets are ceremonial, that is religious, in nature. While baskets are usually used for

harvesting Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

, storage and transport, specialized baskets are used as

sieve A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a device for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet material. T ...

s for a variety of purposes, including cooking, processing seeds or grains, tossing gambling pieces, rattles, fans,

fish trap A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps include fishing weirs, lobster traps, and some fishing nets such as fyke nets. Traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are two main ...

s, and

laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...

History

Prior to the invention of woven baskets, people used tree bark to make simple containers. These containers could be used to transport gathered food and other items, but crumbled after only a few uses. Weaving strips of bark or other plant material to support the bark containers would be the next step, followed by entirely woven baskets. The last innovation appears to be baskets so tightly woven that they could hold water. Depending on soil conditions, baskets may or may not be preserved in the archaeological record. Sites in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

show that weaving techniques were used to make mats and possibly also baskets, circa 8000 BCE. Twined baskets date back to 7000 in

Oasisamerica Oasisamerica is a term that was coined by Paul Kirchhoff (who also coined "Mesoamerica") and published in a 1954 article, and is used by some scholars, primarily Mexican anthropologists, for the broad cultural area defining pre-Columbian so ...

. Baskets made with interwoven techniques were common at

3000 BCE The 30th century BC was a century that lasted from the year 3000 BC to 2901 BC. Events * Before 3000 BC: An image of a deity (detail from a Cong (jade), cong) recovered from Tomb 12 in Fanshan, Yuyao, Zhejiang, is made during the Neolithic peri ...

. Baskets were originally designed as multi-purpose vessels to carry and store materials and to keep stray items about the home. The plant life available in a region affects the choice of material, which in turn influences the weaving technique.

Rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

and other members of the

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

family, the thin grasses of temperate regions, and broad-leaved tropical

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

s each require a different method of twisting and braiding to be made into a basket. The practice of basket making has evolved into an

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

. Artistic freedom allows basket makers a wide choice of colors, materials, sizes, patterns, and details. The carrying of a basket on the head, particularly by rural women, has long been practiced. Representations of this in

Ancient Greek art Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...

are called

Canephorae The Kanephoros (, , pl. Kanephoroi (Greek: ); latinate plural form Canephorae; lit. "Basket Bearers") was an honorific office given to unmarried young women in ancient Greece, which involved the privilege of leading the procession to sacrifice at ...

Figurative and literary usage

The phrase "

to hell in a handbasket "Going to hell in a handbasket", "going to hell in a handcart", "going to hell in a handbag", "go to hell in a bucket", "sending something to hell in a handbasket" and "something being like hell in a handbasket" are variations on an allegorical loc ...

" means ''to deteriorate rapidly''. The origin of this use is unclear. "Basket" is sometimes used as an adjective towards a person who is born out of wedlock. This occurs more commonly in British English. "Basket" also refers to a bulge in a man's crotch.

Materials

Basket makers use a wide range of materials: *

Wicker Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...

Straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...

Plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

Carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

Image gallery

File:President Lyndon B. Johnson and his puppies.jpg, President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

with a basket of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s. File:Hand Crafted Woven Basket hanging on the wall. 02.jpg, Hand Crafted Woven Basket hanging on the wall. File:Baskets four styles.jpg , Four different styles of baskets File:Baskets - Danforth Museum - Framingham, MA - DSC00267.JPG, Baskets -

Danforth Museum Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University (formerly Danforth Museum of Art) is a museum and school in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is part of Framingham State University. History The Danforth Museum Corporation was established on Augus ...

- Framingham, MA File:Nuu-chah-nulth baskets (UBC2010).jpg, A set of traditional hand woven native Indian Nuu-chah-nulth peoples' baskets (Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada) File:Baskets for sale (2902069972).jpg, Baskets for sale in the island of La Réunion, east of Madagascar File:Straw hats and baskets.jpg, Straw hats and baskets for sale at the Luangwa turn-off on Great East road, Zambia. File:Storage basket, Pomo people, Honolulu Museum of Art, 2013-16-01.JPG, Storage basket, Pomo people, (indigenous people of California), Honolulu Museum of Art File:Trinket Basket, Makah people, Northwest Washington, late 19th to early 20th century, twined and plaited bear grass, sedge, cedar bark - Chazen Museum of Art - DSC01868.JPG , Trinket Basket, Makah people, Northwest Washington, late 19th to early 20th century, twined and plaited bear grass, sedge, cedar bark File:Nootka Makah baskets - Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History - DSC06592.JPG, Nootka Makah baskets - Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History File:Eth1 coffeelady.jpg, Ethiopian woman gathering coffee beans in a basket Image:Seri_olla_basket_1.JPG, Seri Indian pot-shaped basket (Northern Mexico) File:Bending vines for basket construction - Ponape.jpg, Bending vines for basket construction -

Pohnpei Pohnpei "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')" (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, Proto-Chuukic-Pohnpeic: ''*Fawo ni pei)'' is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei ...

File:Inuitbasket.jpg, Inupiat basket of whale

with a walrus ivory finial,

Barrow, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the ...

File:Kelly church black ash basket.jpg, Black ash baby basket by

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

- Ojibwe Kelly Church, Michigan File:Yurok 20061109192219.jpg, Yurok baskets from

Redwood National Park The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one national park and three state parks, cooperatively managed, located in the United States along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park (established 1968 ...

area, California File:VM 5099 in a small hotel in Gaoqiao Town, Xingshan County, Hubei.jpg, Traditional western Hubei baskets (China) File:Gullah basket.JPG, Sweetgrass basket made by the Gullah culture of coastal Georgia or South Carolina, USA File:Tragekorb aus Birkenleder.JPG, Backpack made of birch bark. File:BMVB Cistell 1388.JPG , Egyptian basket preserved in the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer, Vilanova i la Geltrú File:India Victor Grigas 2011-8.jpg, A woman carrying a basket full of vegetables on her head in K R Market, Bangalore, India File:Contemporary bamboo baskets of Bangladesh (01).jpg, Contemporary bamboo baskets of Bangladesh.

References

Sources

* Zepeda, Ofelia (1995). ''Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert''. .

External links

*
Baskets
The Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Baskets at the University of Michigan Museum of ArtBaskets at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtExhibition: "A Measure of the Earth: The Cole-Ware Collection of American Baskets" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basket Containers Domestic implements Food storage containers Food packaging