BBC - A History of the World - Object : Woven reed friendship baskets

Woven reed friendship baskets

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Some objects come to us in the most unusual and poignant of ways.

These delicate woven baskets, called tayenebe, were made by two Aboriginal Tasmanian artists, Lennah Newson and Eva Richardson. Tayenebe means exchange and these were gifted to RAMM in 1997 at a time when RAMM had returned two pieces of shell jewellery to Tasmania because of their cultural significance. The jewellery was believed to have been made and worn by Truganini who, for many years before her death in 1876, was believed to be the last pure Aboriginal Tasmanian woman. Today, because of her resistance to colonial rule, Truganini is seen as an Aboriginal heroine.

Many Aboriginal Tasmanian women today are reviving their traditional arts. The colonisation of Tasmania led to most Aboriginal families being deprived of their land: many were persecuted by the British authorities and their numbers fell sharply. They were forced to move away from their homelands and from the plants essential for basket-weaving. As a result the skills of this ancient craft were almost lost. The shell jewellery and baskets that Truganini made began to be collected and preserved as examples of dying traditions.

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8 comments
1. At 21:45 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
Baskets are my least favourite, because they're not visually appealing, but now I know the story, it's interesting [and]... their significance is working for me.... The longer I look at it, the more I like it.

(Alan, local historian in Exwick History Group, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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2. At 21:46 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
What use is it, rather than to just look on an object as purely decorative, symbolic shapes?

(Anne-Flore Laloe, historical geographer and French interpreter, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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3. At 21:49 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
It looks as if it's modelled on a bird's nest....

(Margaret Hammond, painter, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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4. At 21:50 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
A craftsperson could probably appreciate them but my ignorance prevents me.... Just because something is made by an ancient culture we assume it's primitive. I have a copy of the cave painting Head of a bull from Lascaux [in France]. The original was made thousands of years ago, but it's wonderful and the people who made it were probably no different from us. I have a great respect for our ancestors.

(Alan, local historian in Exwick History Group, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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5. At 21:51 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
They gave it as a present, so it must mean something to them, but what?

(Anne-Flore Laloe, historical geographer and French interpreter, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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6. At 21:51 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
Maybe these are representative of the real baskets they use. Aboriginals use baskets to catch fish.

(Anil Lee, moved to Exeter from Istanbul in 1988, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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7. At 21:52 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
If they were travelling people, perhaps it would be important to carry things and a basket would be precious as they would have had to stop to make it.

(Yvonne Hicken, RAMM volunteer, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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8. At 21:59 on 21 July 2010, RAMM Exeter wrote:
I'd like to try and make one myself. It's good they got their things back. They are symbolic - I mean, they don't really need to work.

(Caroline, potter, in a Moving Here session organised by RAMM Exeter)
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