Basket

About this object

History of use

Carrying basket; worn like a backpack, with straps over the shoulders.

Narrative

Acquired by the donor in 1976-1978, when he lived and worked in Sabah, on the island of Borneo, as a volunteer with CUSO International.

Physical description

Pyramid-like basket, with circular opening and rectangular base. Has a short foot rim, made of rattan(?) strips. Basket opening shaped with three exterior coils of rattan(?). The top one is wrapped in dyed dark brown plant fibre, the middle is a wide, naturally coloured strip, and the bottom one is a thin dark brown strip. Coils are all tied together with dark brown plant fibre and plastic. Basket is naturally coloured and woven in alternating sections of horizontal and vertical chevrons. Two rods are intertwined through the basket, to secure braided shoulder straps. Rods form an “M” shape on the front and an upside down “U” on the back. Some sections of the “M” and “U” are only visible from the interior of the basket. The outer lines of the “M”, visible from the exterior, are wrapped in dark brown plant fibre. Above them, overtop where the rods are visible from the interior, are two zigzag designs, done in dark brown. Straps are attached to the front bottom edge of the basket and form an “X” shape. The straps extend overtop of the basket, loop through the rods on the basket back, and then circle around the base of the basket.