Coiled sweetgrass basket sewn by Sue Middleton

Object Details

Description: A round sweetgrass basket (a) with lid (b) sewn by Sue Middleton. The basket is made of coils of dried sweetgrass bound with strips of dried palmetto, with pine needles sewn in for color. The base of the basket has a flat bottom, with pine needles creating a darker circle in the middle of the base. Rising up from the base are straight sides with one coil of sweetgrass sewn in around the exterior of the basket in a decorative pattern that rises up straight from the base, runs along the top for several inches, then straight back down to the base, follows along the base for several inches, and then repeats. Behind the decorative coil is a band of darker pine needles. Above the deorative coil, the sides of the basket begin to slope inward, forming a narrower mouth for the lid to fit over. The round lid has a small knob handle in the center and then slopes slightly down, with a small lip extending down to fit over the mouth of the basket. The handle has pine needles woven in and around, with a decorative knot in the very top and five decorative knots dispersed evenly around the base of the handle. There is a band of pine needles around the edge of the basket lid.

Date: early 1980s

Attributed to: Sue Middleton, American, born 1934

Place made: Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America

Topic: African American; American South; Communities; Craftsmanship; Design; Domestic life; Folklife

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Richard E. Ahlborn

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2007.5.1ab

Type: baskets

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions; Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Medium: sweetgrass, pine needles, and palmetto
Dimensions: 7 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (17.8 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm)

Record ID: nmaahc_2007.5.1ab

Metadata Usage: CC0

GUID: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd55f4229c0-5f93-46fb-86f2-f60715deb5ac

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