Item X 105034 badjkid | Basket. Kunwinjku. Gunbalanya, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. 2002

Summary

Handles that stand seperately, like the ones on this canoe basket are known as berl kabeberldi. They sit on a coiled, oval shaped basket, made from pandanus. The basket has horizontal bands of dyed pandanus interspersed with blocks of undyed pandanus in two rows near the top and the bottom.

Local Name

badjkid

Physical Description

Oval shaped basket, coiled, made with dyed pandanus. It has horizontal bands of dyed pandanus inspersed with blocks of undyed pandanus in two rows near the top and the bottom. It has two single coil rigid handles along each side and attached to the top coil bundle.

Significance

Marilyn Gumurdul's signature style is typically the two sided pandanus handbags, however she is also well known for her coiled baskets. This one is unusual in that the base is oval rather than circular, forming what is referred to as a 'canoe basket'. She has created an unusual handle by stitching the single coil form into the top of the last coil bundle on the rim. Marilyn is recognised as a very accomplished fibre artist, and her work was profiled in the exhibition, Woven Forms: Contemporary Basket Making in Australia that opened at Object Gallery in Sydney in September 2005 and then toured nationally. It has also featured in the publication '500 Baskets: Celebration of the Basketmakers Art' (2006).