Low Basket with Handle

Mary Jackson, Low Basket with Handle, 1999, sweetgrass, pine needles, and palmetto, 15 ¹⁄₂ × 16 ³⁄₄ × 16 ³⁄₄ in. (39.4 × 42.5 × 42.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marcia and Alan Docter, 2001.61

Artwork Details

Title: Low Basket with Handle
Artist: Mary Jackson
Date: 1999
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 15 ¹⁄₂ × 16 ³⁄₄ × 16 ³⁄₄ in. (39.4 × 42.5 × 42.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Marcia and Alan Docter
Mediums: plant material
Mediums Description: sweetgrass, pine needles, and palmetto
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Fiber
Highlights: African American Art
Subjects: Object — other — basket
Object Number: 2001.61
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2001.61

Artwork Description

Mary Jackson's coiled baskets show her love for African basketmaking traditions as well as her desire to create contemporary designs. This basket has a wide and shallow body that appears more decorative than functional, but the tall arching handle allows the user to carry more than might appear possible. Jackson invested the piece with a lively quality, weaving the handle so that the patterns appear to leap up, creating a graceful arc before returning to the body.