Today we had a special visitor-street trader that soon his type of business will disapear. his speciality is hand-weaving baskets made of local bamboo and
Myrtus plant .
He is ne of the last artisans of Corfu that I know who hand makes these basket today.
I had met him in Cofu town in March and topld them to come and see me in Arillas so I bought some baskets from him that will we use in the restaurant for the next generations...
These Baskets represent essential artifacts of rural corfu societies, which are both traditional and modern and are still used in villages for everyday life activities. In urban areas, by contrast, baskets are mostly used for decorative purposes.
Nevertheless, even in villages, traditional baskets have to a large extent been replaced by industrially made containers, usually plastic. This is because their construction has been made more difficult in our days due to raw materials becoming more scarce and less readily available. As a result, baskets are not used to the extent they were used in pre-industrial times, and basket weaving is now a traditional craft .
archaeological excavation in the island of Santorini, three young girls put in baskets the crocus flowers to be offered to the goddess. Homer refers explicitly to baskets weaved with rush (formoi) or with sticks (kofinoi) for storing grapes.
Also in classical times, the Caryatids in the front of Erechtheum in Acropolis, bear baskets on their heads (kalathifores). Baskets continue to have a distinct presence in the daily life and economic activity during more recent historical periods. For example, in the 16th century the prices of agricultural products are set on the basis of the capacity of a basket: in the island of Lesbos one basket of almonds is worth 9 aspra (currency unit at that time). The use of the basket, as a common traditional artifact, spread across
the Mediterranean before and after the industrial revolution, serving as a model or typical motif in different crafts as well, such as pottery and decoration of ceramic pots.
Use at home
Cutlery basket, bread basket (kalathi-artoforio or artokofino). Small basket for keeping weaving tools
(weaved with hay); or coated with clay for storing and conserving wheat. Laundry basket (bougadokofino). Basket with lid to keep dirty linen
A weaved muzzle (moustroucha in the Cretan dialect) was also used in animals (horses, donkeys) working in agricultural activities, in order to protect the crops.
Galiki for watermelons is the largest basket with a capacity of around 60 kilos. Two galikia make up an animal’s load. Kofa which is narrower that galiki, can take up to 70 kilos and is not carried by an animal but transported with a cart or a coach.
Building construction use
Stone-baskets or Zebilia, weaved baskets
to carry stones and rubble.
Ceremonial use
The so called bridegroom’s baskets or kanistra, for the wedding rice, the turnovers
(in Kalamata), the ceremonial gifts but also for the bread blessed by the priest.
Raw materials
Plant and tree branches: cane, bulrush, wicker, willow, wild olive tree, hazel tree timber, rush, palm leaves, straw, flax, grass, internal tree rind, etc.
Reed and wicker are mostly used at present, whilst instead of bulrush which cannot be found easily anymore, bamboo cane and other imported materials are used.
Then the reed is cut in narrow strips with a sharp knife and in even narrower sticks with a wooden cutter; these strips are then woven in circles around the base of the basket so as hold the vertical sticks. Wicker, stripped of its bark or solid, is mostly used for the base of the basket in order to make it stronger; it is usually woven in the shape of a cross. The sticks that form the shape are tied crosswise. A set of reed sticks are stuck on the base and curbed upwards to form a cylinder. Horizontal reed sticks are knitted tightly around this cylinder to form the main body of the basket.
Topic: the last basket maker and basket weaver. (Read 8034 times)