YORUBA COWRIE BASKET 5

There are three side views of this basket. A small screwdriver was placed on the inside to keep track of and mark the turning of the basket. No cowries are missing. Strong side lighting sometimes create dark shadows near the middle. Top and bottom views show the extent of the leather added. Some of the inside views show how the basketry is done and how the cowries are stitched on.

This Yoruba cowrie covered basket could have been made to be sold.

There is leather covering the top rim and the base of the basket. The leather is worn thin on the outside bottom. On the inside bottom there are two stained spots, one of which shows some missing stitching.

Like beads, small cowrie shells were often used as currency and were signs of wealth and status. Many Yoruba sacred and secular objects were embellished with elaborate borders or arrangements of cowrie shells.  Here they are used to decorate a woven basket.