RARE ALLOVER BAR PATTERN AFRICAN BOLGA BASKET AFRICA

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~RARE ALLOVER BAR PATTERN AFRICAN BOLGA BASKET AFRICA~ ~Up for auction is a beautiful and very unique large, brand new hand-woven basket imported from Bolgatanga, Ghana. This basket uses a color combination and pattern I have never seen. It is predominantly the warm colored natural grass, with approximately 1/6th of the pattern highlighted with deep navy. This basket was created using only the very textural bar pattern and it is also completely unique in this respect. The rusty red leather handle contrasts beautifully with these colors. Please enlarge my pictures. They are non-eBay served, and quite large.~ ~The green label that is visible in some of my pictures says "HANDWOVEN IN GHANA". It is a sort of rustic Certificate of Authenticity and also serves to show that the basket is brand new.~ ~The bar pattern is commonly used in conjunction with other traditional Ghana patterns but I have never seen a basket created using ONLY the bar pattern. It is very striking, as the long bars run from under the rim to the central bottom portion of the basket. The weaver has alternated one row of solid natural grasses, with a row w each third strand down is a dark navy. I still can't figure out how she did it! This creates a beautiful, and most unusual affect! I have marked one of the bars in the picture, below, to help you visualize the pattern. ~ ~The weaver has chosen to leave the sturdy rim and handles natural, which serves to accentuate the navy touches. Even the small, hanging loops are created using the undyed natural grasses.~ ~The two pictures below give additional detail shots of the wonderfully textural pattern of this unique basket. The picture on the left shows the basket standing on its side; the one on the right is a close up of the bars.~ ~ I notice not all the Bolga baskets on eBay have the beautiful rusty-red hand-crafted handle. Perhaps because my distributor pays "Fair Trade" prices for these baskets, we are fortunate to receive the weaver's best work.~ ~With the increasing interest in hand-woven African baskets, I thought it might be helpful to write a "Buyer's Guide". If you would like to read this brief guide, please click on the following link: Guide . Below is the inside of the basket.~ ~This large basket measures 16" in diameter and 49 1/2" in circumference (over 4 feet!). It stands approximately 9" in height, with the handles adding another 6". Except for the circumference, all these measurements can be changed by reshaping the basket, which is simply a matter of wetting it and shaping it with your hands. I have a buyer who shapes all of hers square!!~ ~These stunning baskets are Fair Traded (which means fair wages and NO child labor) and woven for this stated mission: "to assist the poor rural women of Northern Ghana in earning a decent income in order to care for their children". Weaving has been a traditional skill in the historical town of Bolgatanga for many years, partly because the land is not fertile enough to support much agriculture. A basket of this size takes 3 days to weave. For more information about the arduous process of creation, please see below *** ~ ~Another amazing thing about these baskets is that, merely by dipping them in water or spraying them, you can shape them in any way you want: oval, tall and thin, short and squat, etc. Then you simply let them air-dry! I will include more information about this process with the basket.~ ~To view all the African baskets I currently have listed, plus a wide array of Tibetan Buddhist-related items, as well as lots of neat Fair Trade global imports, including everything from Nepali ceramic incense burners and jewelry to African masks, please visit my Store . As always, my shipping is ACTUAL cost at ACTUAL weight. The basket only weighs a couple of pounds, but unfortunately, so does a box big enough to contain it!~ ~P lease feel free to contact me if I can provide more information or pictures. I combi... read more

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