Faggots, Pimps and Throstles. The Cleft-Stave Basket MklI
This is the MkIl Stave Basket, and here I've used 'riven' or 'cleft' splints (split and shaved) rather than sawn timber. Is this a more authentic technology? I'm not certain, but I would have thought that reliance on saw-milled timber for the staves would be a late nineteenth century development. And nothing wrong with that! An original Jack Rowsell basket which I have in my collection uses sawn timber staves and it's a beautiful example of the species. Also this week, I gave an evening talk to the local village society. It was cryptically titled Faggots, Pimps and Throstles ( don't ask!), which seemed to draw quite a crowd. So with the aid of forty-plus images, I meandered through the material ecology of a coppice ecosystem before eventually arriving at this little cleft--stave basket. It was a pleasant little tour, and judging by the questions at the end, I think I took most of the villagers along with me. ...