A world of baskets

A catalogue from a plaited basketry exhibition held in Istanbul in 2005 has been uploaded to the academic publications site, Academia.edu.

The catalogue includes examples of the intriguing and skilled craft of basket-making from across the world; Japan, Ethiopia (the picture alongside comes from the catalogue and is of an Ethiopian covering for plates and bowls), Malaysia, Spain... the list goes on, and there are pictures of the various types of vessel, plate and decoration which, I would imagine, formed part of the original exhibition. 

It reminds me of the Shetland tradition of basket-making which made the peat baskets called kishies and of the skekler's costumes, fancy-dress that guizers wore when they went visiting houses in the area. If you would like to know more and see a picture of a recreated costume, visit Lois Walpole's blog and read about this fascinating history.