Lacquered Harvest Basket

It is easy to imagine someone, long ago, gathering a harvest from their garden or strolling to the market with this beautiful basket tucked under their arm. The round basket has been artfully woven by hand of willow and cord around a bent bamboo rim, surmounted by a bentwood handle that arches gracefully in continuation of the basket's curving form. A layer of dark lacquer cloaks the basket inside and out for a water-tight seal, further enhanced with red paint at some point in the basket's storied life.