HANDWOVEN BIRCH BASKET

Birch bark basketry is one of the oldest craft traditions in Scandinavia. The material itself has been used across the northern world for storage, waterproofing, and construction for as long as people have lived near birch forests. This basket is woven from wide, flat strips of birch bark in a diagonal lattice — a technique that requires the bark to be harvested and worked while still supple, then left to stiffen and settle into its final form. The result is a vessel that is simultaneously rigid and organic, the slight irregularities in the weave a record of the maker's hands. The bark has aged to a deep amber, the form open-mouthed and cylindrical with a quiet, unhurried presence. Works as storage, a plant vessel, or an object to simply be looked at.

SWEDEN, EARLY 20C
33" x 32" x 32"