Brief History Of The Basket Bag

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. Portrait of Marie Gabrielle de Gramont, Duchesse de Caderousse,1784. Image: Wikimedia Commons

The basket bags are back and this time not only to complement the beachwear, but also in the streets of the spring and summer.​ Same goes for the straw and raffia bag trend as this handbag style fits in quite well in appropriate spring and summer wardrobe recalling its first appearance in the 1970's, when Jane Birkin was photographed all around Paris, toting her woven basket, paired with perfectly slouchy jeans, a classic t-shirt, and, of course, her famous negligent and charming hairstyle. 
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How did Jane's bag differ from the usual basket? And how did humanity learn to use baskets as an unusual and beautiful fashion accessory? It seemed interesting to explore how balance was found between functionality and modernity. 

Origins of the Basket Bag 

Relief panel Period:Neo-Assyrian Date:ca. 883–859 B.C. Geography:Mesopotamia, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) Culture:Assyrian Medium:Gypsum alabaster Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Image: Public Domain

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​It looks like a bucket bag, however, was created before the basket. Ancient people used tree bark to make simple containers. These containers could be used to transport gathered food and other items, but crumble after only a few uses. Weaving strips of bark or other plant material to support the bark containers would be the next step, followed by entirely woven baskets. The last innovation appears to be baskets so tightly woven that they could hold water. It turns out that baskets were originally designed as multi-purpose baskets to carry and store and to keep stray items about the home. the use of materials varies from region to region, forcing people to use locally available raw materials derived from plants. The choice of material influenced the weaving technique.

People used rattan and other members of Arecaceae or palm tree family, and also some varieties of the thin grasses available in the temperate regions. They also used the broad-leaved tropical bromeliads. Each of these materials require a different method of twisting and braiding to be made into a basket. Experiments with materials and the practice of basket making has evolved into an art. 

A special story is also about the habits of carrying a basket. In ancient times, there are many examples of how baskets were worn on the head. And only when the people began to carry the baskets in their hand, the development of the handbag could start.

The oldest handbags or bucket bags, apparently, appeared in Mesopotamia. The panel from the Northwest Palace at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) depicts a winged supernatural figure. Such figures appear throughout the palace, sometimes flanking either the figure of the Assyrian king or a stylized "sacred tree." 

The figure depicted on the panel is eagle-headed and faces left, holding in his left hand a bucket and in his right hand a cone whose exact nature is unclear. One suggestion has been that the gesture, sometimes performed by figures flanking a sacred tree, is symbolic of fertilization: the "cone" resembles the male date spathe used by Mesopotamian farmers, with water, to artificially fertilize female date-palm trees. [1.]

The figures are supernatural but do not represent any of the great gods. Rather, they are part of the vast supernatural population that for ancient Mesopotamians animated every aspect of the world. It has been suggested that the figures in the palace reliefs represent the apkallu, wise sages from the distant past.

What do their hands hold?   None of the Apkallus has two empty hands, and they don’t hold swords or bows and arrows; instead, several types of daggers were tucked into their waistbands. Sources say that they hold the banduddu (in Akkadian) or bucket filled with fluid. This fluid might be water of melting snow. Assyrians thought that the snow on the mountains is scared as it comes from the sky where their gods and goddesses dwell. [4.] 

​Calathos - the Bag or a Top Hat?  

Figure of Isis-Aphrodite Period:Roman Period Date:2nd century A.D. Geography:From Egypt Medium:Terracotta painted brown, black, red, and pink on white engobe Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Image: Public Domain

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​The baskets in the ancient world were often worn on the heads.  A calathus/calathos or kalathos was a basket in the form of a top hat, used to hold wool or fruit, often used in Ancient Greek art as a symbol of abundance and fertility. These baskets were made by weaving together reeds or twigs. They were typically used by women to store wool. Also they had other uses in the household. In Roman times such baskets were used to bring the fruits from the fields. The word was also used to describe ceramic vases that were made  in the shape of the calathus basket. Such baskets may occur with or without handles.

Literary sources report that, depending on the context, the calathus could contain wool or food, small animals or flowers. Often they were made of Willow rods, but other examples were made from clay, metal, glass and even stone. A silver calathus with a golden rim is mentioned by Homer as belonging to Helen, this one even ran on wheels. [10.] In the ancient world, they have been used in very different contexts. Illustrations on south-Italian vases make use of the calathus as a symbol of a future marital relationship as it has traditionally been interpreted as a fertility symbol, reserved for goddesses or their priestesses. [10.]

As seen in the picture above, Isis-Aphrodite is a form of the great goddess Isis that emphasizes the fertility aspects associated with Aphrodite. She was concerned with marriage and childbirth and, following very ancient Egyptian prototypes, also with rebirth. Elaborate accessories, including an exaggerated calathos which is also the crown of Egyptian Greco-Roman divinities.

​As ancient artifacts show, many ancient cultures have used such a crown of a basket type as an attribute of deity. So here we are talking about turning a basket or bag into a some type of headgear.

Medieval & Renaissance Baskets 

Master of the Portrait of Adie Lambertsz. Anna van Popma,1618. Image: Wikimedia Commons

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The economic activity during Middle Ages created a huge demand for baskets. They were used in harvesting, in the market, in the process of harvesting medicinal herbs and for many other purposes. The average housewife knew how to make a basket, it was common to trade for one from a woman who specialized in basketry.  They were made out of wood split into narrow ribbons, as well as vines or willow shoots. Before weaving could begin, the materials were soaked to make them pliable. Some woods need to be soaked several days before they can be bent for weaving.  Making baskets was one of the few businesses that permitted women artisans. 

Medieval miniatures often show the round baskets widely used by women. And visually they did not differ from the baskets used today.These  round baskets show strong bases, multi-strand diagonal weave and roped arched handles. Such baskets are featured in the illustrations from late 14th Century northern Italian manuscripts published in  The Medieval Health Handbook: tacuinum sanitatis (NY: George Braziller, 1976). [13.]

Medieval baskets were carried by servants, peasants and harvesters. The situation did not differ in particular in the Renaissance, since the servants were more likely to be seen on the streets of the city with their large baskets in their hands.
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Baskets still were not fashion accessories. However, children from the middle class as well as from high society were already depicted in the 16th century portraits with flower baskets or baskets filled with fruits and berries in their hands. Over the centuries flower and fruit baskets - a symbols of wealth - became fashion accessories for women.

​Cornucopia or Barocco Basket 

Peter Lely. Jane Needham mrs Myddleton, 1663-5. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Mythology offers multiple and various explanations of the origin of the cornucopia.
This attribute has a close connection with a flower and fruit basket filled with gifts of nature. 

One of the best-known stories tells about the birth of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Kronus. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat Amaltheia or "Nourishing Goddess", who fed Zeus with her milk. The future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength. Maybe that's why when playing with his nursemaid, he accidentally broke off one of her horns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment. 

The cornucopia became the attribute of several Greek and Roman deities, especially those associated with the harvest, prosperity, spiritual abundance. 
The cornucopia personified many Greek and Roman deities and nymphs, including Gaia (Terra), Plutus (god of riches), Fortuna (the goddess of luck), who had the power to grant prosperity. 

The rich and noble ladies of the Baroque era, the mistresses of kings were often depicted with the attributes of antique deities. Among the favorite attributes was the cornucopia, from which endless gifts flowed out, symbolizing the cult of magnificence and wealth characteristic of the Baroque period.

​Was it a fashion accessory that toured the bag?

Flower Baskets of the 18th Century

John Singleton Copley. Portrait of Rebecca Boylston, 1767. Location: Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston Image: Wikimedia Commons

The street vendors and noble ladies of the court were among those who most often used the baskets. In the pastoral scenes of the Rococo era, we usually see the Queen with ladies-in-waiting who are influenced by stories about the antique nymphs and deities. But they no longer used baskets to carry fruit and vegetables, as did the farmers and maids. For their pleasure, they carried flowers, which were arranged in beautiful compositions in the small baskets. These were flower baskets that turned into fashion accessories.

Maidens, Peasants & Fashion Divas of the 19th Century 

Louis Marie Autissier. Lady with Basket filled with Fruits, 1814. Image: Wikimedia Commons

​And apparently nothing changed in the 19th century..., except for the special interest in nature. The floral arrangements were an important part of a decorative scheme during the Age of Romanticism. More exotic plant materials were introduced into Europe and the United States. From China came new varieties of chrysanthemums, rhododendrons, and azaleas. From South Africa came the gladiolus, freesia and pelargonium. From Mexico came the dahlia, gloxinia, and fuchsia. Many old garden favorites were greatly improved as a result of widespread scientific interest in horticulture and botany. The Industrial Revolution made it possible to manufacture a great variety of ceramic and glass containers. Artificial flowers were extremely popular and were made in many different materials in both home and factory. The books and magazines of the Victorian age declared that the art of arranging flowers was an accomplishment all young ladies should acquire. [12.] 

​The flower baskets that the young ladies carried with them as romantic attributes of the fashionable image were the forerunners of today's basket bags.

Basket Bag 

Juan Gris. Woman With Basket, 1927. Location: Private Collection Image: public domain via wikiart.org

​References & Further Reading: 

1. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322614 
2.wyrtig.com/EarlyGardens/British/Tools/Baskets.htm
​3. www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247384
​4. www.ancient.eu/article/1122/wall-reliefs-apkallus-of-the-north-west-palace-at-/
5. http://www.livius.org/articles/concept/apkallu/
​6. www.randomhistory.com/2008/10/01_handbag.html
​7.brucefenton.info/2017/02/08/ancient-handbags-in-stone-and-art-true-origin-and-meaning-revealed/
8.www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/what-mysterious-handbag-seen-ancient-carvings-across-cultures-and-021191
​9. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Baskets_in_portrait_paintings 
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calathus_(basket)​
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_weaving 
https://www.urbansouthern.com/fascinating-history-of-bucket-bag/
​​12.www.britannica.com/art/floral-decoration/Historical-and-stylistic-developments#ref73810
​13.www.buttery.org/marian/14th_c_ital_baskets_2.html
​​14.www.larsdatter.com/baskets.htm
​15.www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544919
16.http://www.toptenz.net/10-oldest-pieces-clothing-accessories-world.php
​17.http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub363/item1519.html#chapter-9

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