Introduction:
Basketry is one of the most ancient
of crafts and probably the origin of all the textile arts of the world.
The process of interweaving twigs,
seeds, or leaves is practiced among the rudest nations of the world' and
as it is one of the most universal of arts, so also does it rank among the
most ancient industries.
Authorities on the subject declare
that there has never been a tribe in any part of the world that has not
employed some mode of making baskets, and that all the weaves in use at
the present day have their origin in baskets made by our savage ancestors.
A craft of such antiquity is
naturally of surpassing interest.
The ancient Britons appear to have
excelled in the art of basket making, and the shields of the ancient
warriors and also their huts were made of wicker-work; and their boats of
the same material, covered with skins of animals, attracted the notice of
the Romans. Herodotus mentions boats of this kind on the Tigris and
Euphrates.
Among many uncivilized tribes of the
present day baskets of a superior order are made and applied to various
and useful purposes.
The North American Indians prepare
strong water-tight baskets from roots. The Indians of South America
weave baskets equally useful from fronds of their native palms, while the
Hottentots of South Africa are as skilful in using reeds and the roots of
plants, and display great adroitness in the art of basket weaving.
The Chinese and Japanese excel in the
application of bamboo in the weaving of baskets and the making of
furniture, and their products are of unequalled beauty and finish.
In England and America the
value of manual training is being recognized, and basketry is taking and
important place. The Art has proved itself capable of immense
development. New shapes as well as new designs in weaving are
constantly suggesting themselves, and the most advanced teachers find that
there is a great deal in the craft yet to be learned.
A thorough and steady training of
twelve months is necessary to become proficient, and three years to
acquire sufficient accuracy and speed (training the eye for shaping and
the hand for regular and even weaving) to be able to fill correctly orders
for special designs, and to reproduce models from specified measurements.
George Wharton James has given us the
thought that each basket has a significance in shape, design, and color
all its own and suggests that in our work we follow the Indian idea of
making the basket the exponent of something within ourselves; then the
shape, design, and colors will all mean something more to us than what
merely shows on the outside.
Train yourselves to imitate in form
the simple things, and find your true inspiration in nature.
To be proficient in this task one
must be persevering, accurate, neat and capable of making the hand obey
the mind.
)
