Object Details
- Label Text
- The basket's shape is reminiscent of the large bead-and-cowrie-covered baskets known as containers of wisdom that form part of royal Kuba regalia. The carved pedestal upon which this basket sits and the effort taken to create its tiered lid and patterned sides suggest it held important belongings.
- Description
- Plant fiber basket with separate lid. The basket is circular, narrowing toward the bottom, which is attached to a wood base carved with a deeply cut, interwoven meander pattern. The tightly woven body of the basket has vertical diamond patterns while the lid has four stepped tiers. Four loops of twined fiber come through the upper part of the body. They can be used to hold the lid in place.
- Provenance
- Irwin Hersey, New York, 1977 to 2000
- Exhibition History
- African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013 (deinstalled March 14, 2013)
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Kuba artist
- Lele artist
- Date
- Early to mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Marcia and Irwin Hersey
- Medium
- Plant fiber, wood
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 18.3 x 13.7 x 13.6 cm (7 3/16 x 5 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
