Woven Legacies: Innovation & Tradition
Timed Online Auction, 2 - 24 February 2025
Vintage baskets from southern Africa: The collection of Dr Elizabeth Terry
About the SessionThis selection of vintage baskets comes from the collection of Dr.Elizabeth Terry, a social scientist with a special interest in craft development. It marks a historic moment, being the first time a collection of this kind has come to market. Originating from Southern and Central Africa, these baskets demonstrate how everyday objects—once used for practical purposes like storing food, sifting grain, and carrying goods—transform over time into cultural artifacts and works of art.
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About this Item
Notes
Kejang Lelathego was born and has lived her whole life in Gomare, Botswana. Lelathego's mother taught her how to weave in the late 1940s when she was about 12 years old. She weaves baskets almost every day from sunrise to mid-afternoon. Lelathego feels many people are interested in the baskets from Gomare, and they say, ‘You weavers are making the most beautiful work than any other basketmakers in the country.’
The coiling technique for this basket is close, simple over-sewing over two coils, alternating at each stitch while catching the previous row with a small ‘stitch’. The red-brown colour is obtained from the tree bark of the Berchemia discolor boiled together with the palm leaves. The lighter shades come from using progressively weaker dye baths.
- Dr Elizabeth Terry
Provenance
Dr Elizabeth Terry Collection.
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