Notes

Kejang Lelathego was born and has lived her whole life in Gomare, Botswana. Lelathego's mother taught her how to weave in the late 1940s when she was about 12 years old. She weaves baskets almost every day from sunrise to mid-afternoon. Lelathego feels many people are interested in the baskets from Gomare, and they say, ‘You weavers are making the most beautiful work than any other basketmakers in the country.’

The coiling technique for this basket is close, simple over-sewing over two coils, alternating at each stitch while catching the previous row with a small ‘stitch’. The red-brown colour is obtained from the tree bark of the Berchemia discolor boiled together with the palm leaves. The lighter shades come from using progressively weaker dye baths.

- Dr Elizabeth Terry

Provenance

Dr Elizabeth Terry Collection.