Weaving Natural Fibers into Baskets

Basketry is one of the most ancient art or craft in mankind, from natural fibers to synthetic ones, baskets are constantly present in our lives.

Baskets were the first containers made by men. They are present in all human civilization and it is hard to say how old this craft is because of the organic and perishable characteristic of the materials. One of the first found evidence dates to the Neolithic Egyptian period (ca. 5900–4000 BCE) where baskets were used as silos for grain storage, however thanks to the well-preserved mummies from the ancient period (3150-525 BCE) found in a temple in Egypt, anthropologists become aware that the art of basketry reached its perfection during this period.

In ancient times baskets had multiple uses, for example, the high priest of the Babylonian city of Lagash used it as a crown while Greeks developed the first furniture designs, making small wardrobes and benches for homes and temples. Roman men gave their fiancée painted baskets with flowers and love letters or a lock of hair as a pledge of love.

During the Middle Age basketry began to have more than one use, kids used it to put their Christmas wishing list, women used them as their makeup and jewelry container or as a handbag. The furniture design industry continued to develop different types of benches and other furniture pieces. Medieval farmers used basketry fences to protect their crops from sheep and other animals. From then on the basket will be in the center of men’s life.

In Asian cultures, baskets are very important. They are used to carry and transport rice, which is conceived as a life-force of many countries of the region and therefore they had to be meticulously weaved to prevent rice from falling out. Baskets had become so important in this part of the world that there was a period when peasants measured years with baskets. One basket meant 3 years, so three baskets was a dog’s life, nine baskets were a horse´s life, twenty-seven was a man’s life and an elephant died at the age of eighty-one baskets.

In mythology, baskets have always been present. Athena, the goddess of love, enclosed the beating heart of a lover in a wicker basket; in Aphrodite a basket was used to transport an alive and poisonous snake that symbolized the dangers people had to face if they gave themselves to an unrestrained love and in Bacco’s bacchanal parties, baskets were present as containers for herbs, fruits………even poison ready to be used depending on the results of the lovers encounters.

In modern times, baskets are made all around the globe and had become not only a way of living but also an art. It has become an important element in interior design, for example, it can be used as a wall art, putting together different shapes, sizes and styles, instead of a painting, baskets give an interesting and different look to a wall. In bathrooms can store your towels or your laundry, in your family room can be used for keeping your favorites journals or your remote controls, if you like to do any DIY activity, baskets can be perfect as a container and at the same time a decorative element. Not enough cabinets in your kitchen? baskets can be the right solution, or in the bedroom, near your bed, you can have a big basket to put your throw and pillows when you are going to sleep.

What we wanted to express in this small note is that baskets have been present in our everyday life since ancient times. We are so used to have them that we don’t pay enough attention to them, but if we think that this basket we have at home, has been made by a person in a small village somewhere around the world,  patiently woven with his or her hands, hands that may be tired but cannot stop weaving because thanks to this “gift” they support their families,  then we might give them the right value.