Unrecorded artist, Barotse People

Notes

Extremely fine Barotse (Lozi) basket. Small, unembellished, yet of exceptional craftsmanship, it would have been a prized personal possession.

In the late 19th century, Barotse weavers began producing baskets for the foreign market, with at least one example entering the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The Lozi people are centred in the Barotse Floodplain of western Zambia. They established a centralized kingdom centuries ago under rulers known as Litunga, meaning “keeper of the earth.” The kingdom, known to outsiders at the time as Barotseland (from Mu Lozi, “Lozi country”), was a powerful and well-organised state before European colonisation, maintaining a sophisticated system of governance and customary law.

The Lozi continue to uphold a strong cultural identity through their language, the Kuomboka Ceremony, and their fine basketry.

Provenance

Colin Sayers Collection.