Culture, Beauty, History Woven Into Baskets LOU ANN GOOD ducted at the Berks Extension Food And Family Service, Leesport. Features Editor Unti , rece ntly, baskets re- LEESPORT (Berks Co.) fleeted the cultures of areas “Baskets are the oldest recog- throughout the world. The ethnic nized craft in the world,” Tina patterns woven into baskets of Barrows said. the past are not as definable in Barrows, a basketry artist and current basketry. This change is curator, recently displayed her because of worldwide trade, collection of baskets to the which greatly impacts basketry. Spring Awareness Day, con- Now isolated countries find Tina Barrows said African-Americans used coastal seagrasses to weave this basket to hold knitting needles. Betty Leidel shows off a basket that was passed down from her grandmother who died in 1948. Leidel was one of several participants who displayed baskets with a his* tory at the Berks County Extension workshop. Lancaster out what sells in the United States and fashion their baskets to meet consumer demand. Third world countries no longer need to rely on tourists coming to their area and selecting a souvenir; in stead, they are selling via the In ternet. Baskets from the past reflect fascinating history. From the be ginning of time, baskets were woven for specific usages, such as carrying heated rocks or cra dling babies. Although a recent Czechoslo vakia archeological dig uncover ed the oldest basket in the world and some baskets were preserved in King Tut’s tomb, few baskets have survived in comparison to other objects. Barrows explained that discrepancy to the fact that baskets have been used heavily and have worn out. Some baskets are molded over a form such as pottery. The form dictates the function for which the basket will be used. Forms are used to make nestling baskets to ensure that the baskets will fit snugly within each other. Materials used to weave bas kets have varied greatly over the centuries. People most often used materials that were native to the area such as sea grass in coastal areas and woods and barks in land. Written history reveals that the early settlers smuggled will ow cuttings (not from a tree but from tall grasses that were har vested yearly) into the bottoms of ships to ensure having it to weave baskets. Barrows said that England did not want willow basketry taken over by the colonists and for that reason did not want them to take willow cuttings. Although Native Americans were adept in basket weaving, their techniques were seldom adopted by early settlers, whose condescending attitude was that “natives” had nothing to teach them. Time shows that Native Amer icans were ingenious in the ma terials and styles of baskets. Ex amples of their work varies greatly from region to region with the Southeast patterns being distinctly different from those from the Northeast. Barks, also made interesting materials for basketry. More open to learning from Native Americans were the Shakers, a religious sect, who be came masters of basketry. They duplicated many of the Native American techniques such as the spoke formation and double bot toms. Shaker baskets were made al most exclusively of ash. Some were made with poplar. Shaker baskets were made and formed over a mold to create sturdy bas kets used for many different pur poses. Although Barrows enjoys making baskets, she said that she would not have made a good Shaker craftsperson. “Whatever they were good at doing, they were assigned to do all day every day,” Barrows said. Shaker bas kets required very hard labor. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 26,2001-823 Nantucket baskets are also highly collectible. In 18S0-1880 when Philipinos lived in Nan tucket, many worked on light ships for whaling trade and were at sea for 6-8 months at a time. During their spare time, they used leftover wood, weaving in scrimshaw designs and pieces of real ivory, which resulted in dec orative baskets. These were made for family and friends, not as a production items. Tremendous work is in- The audience at the Berks County Extension Spring Awareness Day had the opportunity to examine a collec tion of baskets from around the world. “Feel and smell the basket,” Steward Mayes said of trying to determine the age of baskets. Nails can also be an identifying mark when trying to determine the age of baskets. This display by William Turner Associates from Monkton, Md. appeared at the York Antiques Show. Worldwide volved and requires a long pro cess of carving handles. Barrows said that Nantucket purses origi nated in the 19405. “For many baskets, more time is required to gather materials than the actual weaving,” Bar row said. Those made by Pennsylvania Germans were completely differ ent than those made by other na- (Turn to Page 824)
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