Rice and Baskets Post Civil War to the Present

• "At the end of the Civil War, many coastal rice plantations lay in ruins. Efforts to revive production persisted for 50 years, until a series of hurricanes between 1893 and 1916 dealt a death blow to the rice industry. Fueled by nostalgia for a lost way of life, descendants of the plantation elite memorialized the world of their parents in paintings, prints and drawings, prose, poetry and drama. What was recalled as a golden era by some, however, signaled memories of hardship and suffering for others."

The Origin of Sweetgrass Baskets

• “This basket-making tradition came to South Carolina in the 17th century by way of West African slaves who were brought to America to work on plantations. West Africa resembles South Carolina in both climate and landscape, and rice had long been cultivated there. In slaves, plantation owners gained not only free labor but also a wealth of knowledge and skill.”

Simply Baskets Information and History About the Sweetgrass Basket

• "Sweetgrass basketmaking has been part of the Charleston and Mt. Pleasant communities for more than 300 years. Brought to the area by slaves who came from West Africa, basketmaking is a traditional art form which has been passed on from generation to generation."

African Baskets by Master Zulu Weavers

• "South Africa is famous for its tightly woven Zulu baskets. These hand woven African baskets are a true art form and are functional, beautiful and decorative as well as a testament to fine weaving skills. Zulu baskets are considered some of the most collectable baskets in the world. Master Zulu weavers are published and collected worldwide."

Websites

• Ahiagble, Gilbert Bobbo, Nestor Hernandez, and Louise Meyer. 2001.  Master Weaver from Ghana. Greensboro, NC: Open Hand Publ.
• Gilbert “Bobbo” Ahiagble Ewe Kente weaver, Ghana
  "Gilbert “Bobbo” Ahiagble, of the Ewe ethnic group is a Master Kente Cloth Weaver from the Volta Region of Ghana. He began assisting his father by winding bobbins at the age of three and moved onto the West African loom as soon as his legs could reach the treadles, at around the age of nine. He obtained a solid formal education also and his academic abilities opened doors for him and he soon received a diploma as a secondary school teacher, which obliged him to make a choice at the age of 21, to become a teacher or to remain a weaver. Influenced by words he heard from his Peace Corps math teacher, he combined the two and became a teacher of Kente cloth weaving."

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