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History Of Use

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

Description

Rigid cylindrical basket (part a) with a separate lid (part b). Body of basket made of bark, covered in woven strips of rattan(?). It has a wide circular opening and square base, with a short foot. Basket is shaped with four exterior coils of rattan(?) around the top third, and two rods along each side. Rods and coils are dyed dark red, and tied to the basket with plant fibre. Three decorative bands woven around basket; two towards opening, one along bottom edge. Top two bands have identical patterns consisting of a grid with a zigzag overtop, zigzag is made of connected diamonds; bottom band filled with horizontal chevrons. All designs are done in dark brown. Entire back of basket is covered with vertical strips of rattan(?). Long piece of bark cloth looped through strips, forming three straps. Label attached to interior of basket. Lid is made of animal skin and has a long lip, that fits over the top of the basket. It has an internal circular frame, made of bark. Skin is stretched over the frame and secured with a rattan(?) coil, dyed dark red, and plant fibre ties.

Narrative

Collected in Sarawak Malaysia by Grace Chatter, the mother of Ross Lea's wife, Jacqollyne. Grace (nee Soh) was born in Malaysia at the beginning of the last century, and was the daughter of a wealthy gold miner in Sarawak. She married a man from the British consulate, and brought the collection with her when she moved to Canada in her senior years.