Whether tramping through the woods of Appalachia in search of the straightest-grained white oak or wading through the marshes of the Carolina low country gathering bulrush, the basket maker is intimately bound to nature and the raw materials of her craft. Few traditional handcrafts still in practice today, adds Robert Shaw in
American Baskets, are so dependent upon the maker's skill with her hands--only the simplest tools, if any, are needed.
Understanding the history and cultural origins of basket-making techniques is the first step in a collector's or an enthusiast's appreciation of fine vintage or contemporary baskets, and Shaw's book, an introduction to the major American basketry traditions, is a good place to start reading. Deftly weaving together cultural, religious, and personal histories and geographic and environmental influences on the craft, Shaw traces the development of the many distinct native traditions: the Aleuts of Alaska; the Cherokees; the so-called immigrant traditions of New England; the Shakers; the Germans of the Taconic Mountains in New York; traditions in Nantucket, Pennsylvania, and Appalachia; and the African American communities of the coastal Southeast. Simple, full-color photographs of some of the finest specimens in American collections are accompanied by intelligent, thorough captions listing the artisan (when known), date and place of origin, various materials and dyes used, dimensions, and notes on the basket's intended or possible uses.
Rather than muddying the often quite compelling stories of the earliest American basket makers and their descendants, information aimed at collectors is gathered into separate sections that provide overviews of the market conditions for various styles of baskets and how they've changed in the last century or so, what to look for and snap up at auctions--and what to avoid. Caring for and displaying fine baskets is covered in the book's brief final chapter.
--Liana Fredley
