![Dupuis, Pierre - Basket of Plums](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Dupuis%2C_Pierre_-_Basket_of_Plums.jpg)
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 in Haikou 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Baskets_in_Haikou_03.jpg)
Baskets serve utilitarian as well as aesthetic purposes. Some baskets are ceremonial, that is religious, in nature.
While baskets are usually used for
harvesting, storage and transport,
specialized baskets are used as
sieves for a variety of purposes, including cooking, processing seeds or grains, tossing gambling pieces, rattles, fans,
fish traps, 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 show that weaving techniques were used to make mats and possibly also baskets, circa
8000 BCE. Twined baskets date back to 7000
in
Oasisamerica. 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 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 ...
or
palm tree 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. 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
![Iranian baskets made of wicker and palm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Iranian_baskets_made_of_wicker_and_palm.JPG)
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
*
Metal
*
Bamboo
*
Palm
*
Carbon fiber
Image gallery
File:President Lyndon B. Johnson and his puppies.jpg, President Lyndon B. Johnson with a basket of dogs.
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
Seri or SERI may refer to:
People
*Jean Michaël Seri, an Ivorian professional footballer Places
*Seri Yek-e Zarruk, Iran
*Seri, Bheri, Nepal
*Seri, Karnali, Nepal
*Seri, Mahakali, Nepal
*Seri, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
Oth ...
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 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 ...
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 Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* '' Acer negundo'', native to North America
* ''Fraxinus nigra'', native to North America
* ''Eucalyptus sieberi
''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or bl ...
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
The Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer (Víctor Balaguer Museum & Library) is located in Vilanova i la Geltrú and was founded in 1884 by Víctor Balaguer so as to thank the city for its support during his politician career. Since 2000 the museum ...
, 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
K R Market (Krishnarajendra Market), also known as City Market, is the largest wholesale market dealing with commodities in Bangalore, India. It is named after Krishnarajendra Wodeyar, a former ruler of the princely state of Mysore. The market i ...
, Bangalore, India
File:Contemporary bamboo baskets of Bangladesh (01).jpg, Contemporary bamboo baskets of Bangladesh.
See also
*
Basket weaving
* ''
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 ...
''
*
Weaving
*
Native American basketry
*
Native American basket weavers
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and enterta ...
*
Baleen basketry
*
Fruits Basket ''Japanese Manga series''
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