In the past, when an apprentice basket-maker finished his training, he was expected to produce a piece which demonstrated the talent and expertise gathered while he was learning. This was called the ‘masterpiece’.
Today, this expertise is still practised by a number of artisans in Saigon, Vietnam, where this basket is made. Very few tools are required for this kind of workmanship: a knife, a splitter and shears. This kind of expertise is being lost because it now taught in just one location in France.
Collection of fine basket-work made from woven pieces of wicker and splintwood on bamboo cane, finished in matt black lacquer.