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 After
considering these three essential elements in a
basket-the material itself, the gauge of the material
and the time evolved in its preparation and the final
form and structure – one may turn to the ornamentation
of the basic form.
In the past, ornamentation was achieved by an
adjustment of the natural materials.
A textural or color change could be produced by
reversing the material or stripping it of a protective
skin or bark. Perhaps
other related materials could be overlayed on the
surface or interwoven to create contrasting designs.
The finishing details of a basket such as the
binding of a rim or the reinforcement of a stress point,
became elements of ornamentation when done with care and
attention to detail.
The most common of ornaments in basketry was an
adjustment of the weavers from the simple one-over-one
pattern to the various twilled or twined patterns.
In
today’s world, there seems to be no limit to the kind
of ornamentation that may be added to baskets in the
form of decorative finishes that enhance the texture and
structure of woven elements or to the additional
embellishments that recall the original use of baskets
that may have been retired for decorative purposes.
Any of these ornamental elements must be judged
by their relevance to the basic structure and extent to
which the enhance it.
No
basket can be fully understood without probing the
purpose for which it was made, for it is the function of
the finished basket which must inform its logic of
structure and integrity.
In the Philippines, we find a multitude of fish
traps ranging in size from fifteen or twenty centimeters
to nearly two meters in length. Forms vary from large closely woven tubes to small open cages
and paradoxically, it would seem that the largest
baskets seem to be for catching the smallest fish.
It is only but
knowing how each of these functions that we can
genuinely appreciate the choice of material and the
dynamics of design and structure.
Now
that we have arrived at a time when large quantities of
baskets are made for commercial purposes or for shipment
to destinations for from the original culture which
informed them, we must always discern why it was made.
It is to be expected that a multitude of baskets,
even made by the same hands, would possess an aura of
anonymity as compared to the single basket made by a
craftsman for his own use.
Yet if the stresses of construction are well
balanced and there is evidence of craftsmanship, care
and skill in their construction, they can achieve true
integrity.
As
we become more discerning and discriminating in our view
of basketry and its informing craft, there is no doubt
that the makers will respond with greater pride in their
work and finer attention to their products.
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