Chinese or Japanese basket

H Hi just bought this from a antique shop in England they believed it was ceremonial basket what do you think ? Cheers

 

@Taupou ...???

I think chinese..

 

I'm not familiar with this particular basket, but I would think it is probably from the Philippines, rather than either Japan or China, based on the woven design on the rim, which is frequently found on baskets from the Philippines.

If we could see a clear photo of the start of the basket, on the bottom, it would be helpful. Chinese baskets usually have a distinctive start on round baskets like this, consisting of spoke-like overlapping strands.

"Ceremonial" is often an over-used, and basically meaningless term, usually used when someone has no idea of what something was used for, but wants to make it sound important.

Baskets are primarily holders for things, containers for whatever the user has that fits, and not generally made for only one specific purpose. (With the possible exception of baby carriers, fish traps, footwear, fans, hats....)

 

Hope this helps cheers

 

probably from the Philippines,

Then maybe an Ifugao rice carrier...?

 

Thanks for the additional photos, they certainly helped, even though it still doesn't make a positive identification possible.

This basket is giving off mixed signals as to basing its origin on the construction. The form itself resembles a Chinese hat basket, the rim looks like the Philippines, the handle looks more Japanese, but the rest doesn't.

What is the base that's tacked on, made of? At first I thought it was a metal band attached over a wood base, now I'm wondering if it's carved wood. And the lid (and possibly the basket itself) appears to be made in two layers, an outer stake and strand construction, and inner layer that's plaited.

Now I would say definitely Asian, and probably Chinese, but it's difficult to tell positively from the photos.

 

It would be helpful to know the size. Although I can possibly judge based on the height of the stair riser, the step the basket is shown on is confusing. Either it's a curved staircase, or a strange distortion of the step by the camera angle.

 

I believe the base to be carved