Featured Unusual basket - Anyone seen similar?

and unconcluded...

 

It is the same basic technique, based on traditional willow weaving methods. The one on Chairish is worked over a bottle. The one I have is better done, and not worked over a form. And based on the seller's information that it was associated with a Hungarian immigrant, I think it is a very likely explanation.

I will continue to try to chase down further information, though.

 

single strand warp vs multi strand
your weft follows a straight line , the bottle twists one strand over the next..

maybe I'm just being picky....but I wanna see another with ' your' weave..!

 

Yes, the weaving on the bottle can get away with a single strand warp because it is supported by the bottle. The basket I have stands on its own, and needs the extra structure provided by double stakes/warps.

As you note, the bottle is twined, with pairs of weft exchanging their position with each stroke. It is more difficult to see, but on close examination the basket I have is also twined.

The description provided with the bottle says that the wire was used to cover such items as the bottle, but also "for creating baskets and other objects", which I why I think it may explain the one I have. Iam still trying to find more corroborating information.

 

The colors are beautiful and festive. And this discussion is so informative!

 

Now I have 2!



The seller said this one was purchased by his mother about 25 years ago from an antique shop in Florida.

My efforts at research reinvigorated, I have communicated with a few specialists on Zulu telephone wire baskets and one who collects wire covered bottles from Hungary. The consensus seems to be that these baskets are most likely from mid-century Hungary. With the story of the Hungarian grandmother for the first basket, and a Florida origin for the second (it is not hard to imagine another Hungarian grandmother having retired to Florida), this seems like the most promising origin story.

As the baskets are virtually identical in shape and structure, just with a different color scheme, I would assume they were made by the same artist (or at least a group working in the same shop). My pipe dream would be to find a documented example that credits the artist, but that may be too much to hope for.

 

Yay!

They are really well made, so maybe there is documentation somewhere.

I visited the Hungarian Ethnographic Museum during the communist era. At the time they were in a dusty old building near the beautiful parliament building in Pest, Budapest, and no one spoke English. They are now housed in a modern building and have English pages on their website.
It is an Ethnographic Museum in the true sense of the word, and as a collector of ethnic costumes and jewellery I found their Hungarian collection to be very good. Maybe ask them?

https://www.neprajz.hu/en/

Email: info@neprajz.hu

 

Thank you for the suggestion.

I looked at their online database, and did not see any similar baskets. But I will try sending them a message with photos.

 

Just remember, that where a basket is purchased, or ends up, may have nothing at all to do with where it was made!

 

......... unless the weaver makes one for her daughter..... & she lives in the basement apartment !!

 

In this case, I asked each seller if they had any information on the history of the baskets, but that has not been my only source of information, as I explained.