Winnowing basket

Museum number:
2-58330
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020058330
Accession number:
Acc.3100
Description:
Winnowing basket, coiled; deep basin shaped; 1 handle; coiled bundle warps of juncus romerianus (black rush); serenoa repens (saw palmetto) weft.
Donor:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection place:
Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina
Culture or time period:
Gullah
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Basketry (object genre), Coiled weaving, and Winnowers (agricultural equipment)
Function:
1.5 Household
Accession date:
December 16, 1974
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Comment:
The stem is cut from this shrub palmetto, skin is peeled off and split lengthwise. The pithy inside is scraped off with a knife. It is sometimes kept in fresh water to maintain flexibility. This is a contrast to Mainland plantation baskets, which are sewn with split oak, and modern Mt. Pleasant baskets which are sewn with strips of palmetto leaf (sabal palmetto). Note the difference in technique between sea island knot and mainland knot in section on techniques and tools in "Row Upon Row Sea Grass Baskets of the South Carolina Low Country" by Dale Rosengarten, published by the McKissick Museum. See also Folklife Annual 1988-1989, Library of Congress article also by Dale Rosengarten "Bulrush is Silver, Sweet grass is Gold.
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Winnowing basket, accession number 2-58330, described as Winnowing basket, coiled; deep basin shaped; 1 handle; coiled bundle warps of juncus romerianus (black rush); serenoa repens (saw palmetto) weft.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Winnowing basket, accession number 2-58330, described as Winnowing basket, coiled; deep basin shaped; 1 handle; coiled bundle warps of juncus romerianus (black rush); serenoa repens (saw palmetto) weft.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Winnowing basket, accession number 2-58330, described as Winnowing basket, coiled; deep basin shaped; 1 handle; coiled bundle warps of juncus romerianus (black rush); serenoa repens (saw palmetto) weft.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Winnowing basket, accession number 2-58330, described as Winnowing basket, coiled; deep basin shaped; 1 handle; coiled bundle warps of juncus romerianus (black rush); serenoa repens (saw palmetto) weft.

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