Posted 8 years ago
dbbearden
(1 item)
My Mother in law bought this basket in MN at an estate sale and knows nothing about them. I looked at them and they are coiled with what appears to be some grass or wood core and wrapped with some sort of vine or root. Can anyone help identify thes as real and what tribe and period if so? Thanks.
The basket is African, not Native American. It is a traditional style woven by the Mbundu people, of western Zambia.
They are identified by the material they are woven from (the peeled and split roots of the makenge bush), and the distinctive twisted patterns developed when the weft is wrapped over two coils, rather than one. No Native American basket makers use this particular weaving technique.
The use of red and black colored elements is also associated with these baskets. They are usually referred to as "makenge baskets." This one is probably not more than ten years old. Most (especially those with colored patterns like this) are now being made for sale. There are a number of web sites specializing in African fair trade baskets which offer them on line.
Thank you so much for that information!
Please mark the mystery solved, dbbearden. Thanks, CanyonRoad, for sharing your knowledge with all of us here.