A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff

fibers Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

, 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 Horsehair is the long hair growing on the Mane (horse), manes and Tail (horse), tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the Bow (music), bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing Textile, fabric called ...

baleen Baleen is a filter feeder, 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 th ...

, 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 collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

, storage and transport, specialized baskets are used as

sieve A sieve (), fine mesh strainer, or sift is a tool used 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 m ...

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

fish trap A fish trap is a animal trapping, trap used for fishing, catching fish and other aquatic animals of value. Fish traps include fishing weirs, lobster trap, cage traps, fish wheels and some fishing net rigs such as fyke nets. The use of traps ar ...

s, and

laundry Laundry is 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 this u ...

History

Prior to the invention of woven baskets, people used

tree bark Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consist ...

to make simple containers. These containers could be used to transport gathered food and other items, but crumbled after only a few uses.

Weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

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 (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

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 cultural region of Indigenous peoples in North America. Their precontact cultures were predominantly agrarian, in contrast with neighboring tribes to the south in Aridoamerica. The region spans parts of Northwestern Mexico an ...

. Baskets made with interwoven techniques were common at

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

. 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 (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), 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 clos ...

and other members of the

Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...

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 colloquially c ...

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

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

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 cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

. 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" means ''to deteriorate rapidly''. The origin of this use is unclear. "Basket" is sometimes used as an adjective for 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. The word “basket” is frequently used in the colloquial “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In this sense, the basket is a metaphor for a chance at success.

Materials

Basket makers use a wide range of materials, including: *

Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

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 comp ...

Metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

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 **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

Plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

Straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...

Wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

(traditionally made of

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), 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 clos ...

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

, and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

)

Image gallery

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

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

with a basket of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

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 Au ...

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popula ...

, MA File:Nuu-chah-nulth baskets (UBC2010).jpg, A set of traditional hand-woven native Indian

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth ( ; ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen related tri ...

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 LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

, 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 Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. File:Storage basket, Pomo people, Honolulu Museum of Art, 2013-16-01.JPG, Storage basket,

Pomo people The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

, (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 The Makah (; Makah: ') are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Ind ...

, 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,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n 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 (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, from Pohnpeian: "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')") is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei State, one of the fou ...

File:Inuitbasket.jpg, Inupiat basket of whale

with a walrus ivory finial,

Barrow, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ; , ), 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 world and th ...

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

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

Kelly Church,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

File:Yurok 20061109192219.jpg,

Yurok The Yurok people are an Algic-speaking Indigenous people of California that has existed along the or "Health-kick-wer-roy" (now known as the Klamath River) and on the Pacific coast, from Trinidad south of the Klamath’s mouth almost to Cresc ...

baskets from

Redwood National Park The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one List of national parks of the United States, United States national park and three List of California state parks, California state parks located along the coast of northern Cali ...

area,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

File:VM 5099 in a small hotel in Gaoqiao Town, Xingshan County, Hubei.jpg, Traditional western

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

baskets (China) File:Gullah basket.JPG, Sweetgrass basket made by the

Gullah The Gullah () are a subgroup of the African Americans, African American ethnic group, who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida within ...

culture of coastal

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, USA File:Tragekorb aus Birkenleder.JPG,

Backpack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...

made of birch bark. File:BMVB Cistell 1388.JPG , Egyptian basket preserved in the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer,

Vilanova i la Geltrú Vilanova i la Geltrú () is the capital city of Garraf ''comarca'', in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Historically, it is the result of the aggregation of the medieval center of La Geltrú with the center built outside the medieval w ...

File:India Victor Grigas 2011-8.jpg, A woman carrying a basket full of vegetables on her head in K R Market,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

File:Contemporary bamboo baskets of Bangladesh (01).jpg, Contemporary bamboo baskets of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. File:ਟੋਕਰਾ.jpg, A basket used in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

File:Ifugao_baskets2.jpg,

Ifugao people The Ifugao people are the ethnic group inhabiting Ifugao province in the Philippines. They live in the municipalities of Lagawe (capital of Ifugao), Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lamut, Mayoy ...

baskets in a museum

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
* Tokari (Bamboo basket): Mad Honey Hunting Tools and Equipments {{DEFAULTSORT:Basket 8th-millennium BC introductions Containers Domestic implements Food storage containers Food packaging Utility vessels