Antique, Circa 1900, Hand Woven Handcrafted Egg Basket, Early 20th Century America

  

Colonial Americans used baskets to transport grain, store sewing tools and transport vegetables, fruits and eggs. They did with baskets of things that people did with them while they were not concerned. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of ancient basketry in places as diverse as peru, spain, Swiss and oregon. For millennia, baskets, made of natural materials such as wood and reeds, have been a means of transporting individual loads.

They are an integral part of myths and legends around the world. Every civilization has made baskets. The basketry goes back to the recorded history. According to Williamsburg's colonial vannier, Richard Carr.

In the 18th century, the need for baskets had favoured a flourishing English industry. Full - time vanniers, members of a large and powerful guild who constantly tried to increase production and income, provided much of the demand for their American nation and colonies. Each van had a tendency to specialize in a type of basket. The English vanniers shipped a lot of their goods in america.

Usually people in towns and villages bought and used them. In rural areas, settlers often made their own. They used traditional methods, to make the typical basket varieties of the 18th century virginian countryside. The settlers made baskets using the skills that their parents taught them, explains el tuna, vannier in williamsburg.

They used all the materials at hand, and literally hundreds of materials were used. In virginia, for example, white oak was primary. Agricultural basketry began early in the history of America and remained a common part of rural life until about World War II. After the conflict, a changing economy led the peasants to leave for the cities. Rural basketry has begun to decline.

Once the vanniers had a tree, they shot it down and took a section of five to six feet. Using mallets, holds and knives, they reduce the trunk to long and thin strips of wood to weave in a basket, starting from the bottom.

When the sides are raised, they end with a rim. The key is to get the right seal without unduly forcing the wood. A basket for field crop harvest can have large spaces to let rocks and dirt sieve. Other baskets may require tight weaving and a top to hold small items, such as sewing pins. The basketry is experiencing a renaissance in the United States.

Thousands of people build baskets as a hobby. The baskets are home decorations and collectibles.

But materials and methods have changed. Families of colonial farmers did not use glue, nails or shapes to assemble baskets. Nor did they think that hand-made baskets were mainly decorative. Some amateurs are surprised that the Americans of the 18th century regard baskets as tools, not as art, more practical objects than objects in which to invest emotions. In the 1700s, people considered baskets to be strictly utilitarian objects, explains tuna. People didn't like them. Weaving baskets is a perfect balance between art and science. Each woven basket requires both an operational plan and an artistic perspective before being undertaken as a project. This wonderfully preserved antique basket is no exception to this rule. Ingeniously conu, it has a tight and uniform weaving perfect to hold even small objects with confidence. This egg basket is a master class in the art of basketry. A tight and organic weaving, almost symmetrical with a spectacular intersection to the seam just below the handle. Made from all natural materials, this basket offers a rich range of brown mahogany, hazelnut and nuts. Made almost a century ago, this basket remains in excellent condition and is perfect for function and decoration. This basket measures 12 l x 7.5 l x 5 d height including the handle is about 9.5. Can you say artisan there is practically no other craft as distinct and artisanal as basketry. Long before the Faustian advent of the plastic bag, the baskets were the utility of choice for the transport of goods. Everything, including vegetables, eggs, flowers and any kind of item purchased from the market or collected in the fields and forest nearby, was usually put in a basket. Usually made with a robust handle, the baskets provided the additional proverbial hands needed to perform a working day in less time and with a larger volume.

As a result, the artisans of basketry played an important role in the lifestyles that were carved in the primitive American landscape. A mixture of art and science that, combined, make perfection. Long live our ancestral artisans of basketry. The venerable profession of basketry by ed crews, research.