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African Basketry: Grassroots Art from Southern Africa

In the past, various basketry items reflected the lifestyles of the hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, fishing communities and agriculturalist who made them. With rapid urbanisation and cultural change, there has been an associated change in styles, designs and the availability of raw materials. A dramatic increase in the international appreciation of African basketry as an art form, has brought both its functionality and aesthetics into the limelight. The export of African basketry to collectors, interior designers and museums in the USA, Europe and Australia has flourished.

Unlike pottery that endures over time, baskets seldom survive the centuries, and their artistry tends to be overlooked.

Southern Africa has a rich tradition of basketry, and to date, no comprehensive book has been published on this much neglected subject.

Some basketry styles and century-old skills have disappeared, almost without a trace. African basketry describes past, present and future trends, enabling the proper recognition of this art form in both time and place. It documents the origins, historical context, usage, and raw materials utilized in the crafting of different types of basketry in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, southern Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, western Zambia and Zimbabwe. Photographs of baskets from major museum collections in southern Africa, the USA and Britain, feature alongside unique images of basket construction and use. Previously unpublished black-and-white photographs taken by Alfred Duggan-Cronin in early 1900s enhance the historical record.

THE CONTENTS:

Foreword: Patricia Davison

Chapter 1: Beauty, form and function
Highlighting the need to set basketry in an environmental and cultural context.

Chapter 2: Baskets, people and places
Sets basketry in a historical perspective. Like other art forms, basketry is a dynamic craft altered by cultural changes. Specific examples from what the authors' refer to as the 'traditional' era, 1850 to 1960, are illustrated with black-and-white photographs taken by Alfred Duggan-Cronin, from the collection of his work at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa.

Chapter 3: The art and skill of basket weaving and design
Describes how weavers work and acquire their skills, techniques and design knowledge. A general overview of methods, including the main weaving types, are described and illustrated with photographs and pen-and-ink illustrations.

Chapter 4: Baskets at work
Outlines the nine major categories of traditional basketry in a social context. Illustrated by field photographs of baskets in use, and black-and-white photographs of various museum collection pieces in southern Africa, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The categories include, basketry for winnowing and sifting; storage; collecting and carrying; beer production; multi-purpose mats; fishing baskets and traps; adornment; traditional architecture; and in particular symbolic use.

Chapter 5: Plant materials: fibres and dyes
The two major components of basketry materials from plants.

Chapter 6: Colour, commercialisation and change
Describes the changes that have taken place in the colour and material used in basketry. The use of plastic, wire, ink, and carbon paper dyes, as well as the more elaborate and colourful designs, have transformed basketry from utilitarian pieces into works of art.

Chapter 7: Benefits to basket makers
Discusses the commercialisation of basketmaking giving examples of specific basket-producing communities that have benefited socially and economically.

Chapter 8: The future
Looks to the future of basketry in southern Africa in terms of basket producers, their market, and the need for a sustained supply of raw materials.

Appendices Basketry fibres and dyes; Caring and Curation; Plant names

Bibliography and Index

THE AUTHORS:

Anthony B. Cunningham has had a life-long interest in basketry. He obtained his PhD from the University of Cape Town in 1985, and has carried out several research studies of basketry resource use in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. He is currently on the staff of Charles Darwin University, Australia. He has received several awards, including the Sir Peter Scott Conservation Award (1999) from IUCN and the EK Janakki Medal (2003) for services in the filed of ethnobotany.

M. Elizabeth Terry is a social scientist with a special interest in craft development. She obtained her PhD in 1999 from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Dr Terry has lived and worked in Africa (Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique and Chad) for 25 years, organising craft producer groups and training master basket weavers as instructors.

SPECIFICATIONS:
208 pages, hardcover with dustjacket, 300 x 230 mm (portrait), 480 photographs, 20 pen-and-ink illustrations and 1 map

ISBN: 978 1 874950 77 6

Price (excl. shipping): R: 325.00 Ł: 24.07 $: 40.63 €: 29.55

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THE CONTENTS:
Foreword:	Patricia Davison
Chapter 1:	Beauty, form and function Highlighting the need to set basketry in an environmental and cultural context.
Chapter 2:	Baskets, people and places Sets basketry in a historical perspective. Like other art forms, basketry is a dynamic craft altered by cultural changes. Specific examples from what the authors' refer to as the 'traditional' era, 1850 to 1960, are illustrated with black-and-white photographs taken by Alfred Duggan-Cronin, from the collection of his work at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa.
Chapter 3:	The art and skill of basket weaving and design Describes how weavers work and acquire their skills, techniques and design knowledge. A general overview of methods, including the main weaving types, are described and illustrated with photographs and pen-and-ink illustrations.
Chapter 4:	Baskets at work Outlines the nine major categories of traditional basketry in a social context. Illustrated by field photographs of baskets in use, and black-and-white photographs of various museum collection pieces in southern Africa, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The categories include, basketry for winnowing and sifting; storage; collecting and carrying; beer production; multi-purpose mats; fishing baskets and traps; adornment; traditional architecture; and in particular symbolic use.
Chapter 5:	Plant materials: fibres and dyes The two major components of basketry materials from plants.
Chapter 6:	Colour, commercialisation and change Describes the changes that have taken place in the colour and material used in basketry. The use of plastic, wire, ink, and carbon paper dyes, as well as the more elaborate and colourful designs, have transformed basketry from utilitarian pieces into works of art.
Chapter 7:	Benefits to basket makers Discusses the commercialisation of basketmaking giving examples of specific basket-producing communities that have benefited socially and economically.
Chapter 8:	The future Looks to the future of basketry in southern Africa in terms of basket producers, their market, and the need for a sustained supply of raw materials.
Appendices	Basketry fibres and dyes; Caring and Curation; Plant names
Bibliography and Index