Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Basket: rivercane, tray

  • wcu_craft_revival-5563.JPG
  • This rivercane tray was made by Cherokee basket weaver, Rowena Bradley in 1982. Traditionally, trays such as these were used to hold foodstuffs and household goods. To make this tray, Bradley used a complex double weave technique that results in a tight basket. Some double weave baskets can even hold water. This basket was woven from rivercane that was dyed using walnut for the brown color and bloodroot for the orange. Intersecting diagonals of color form a pattern known as Flowing Water. Rowena Bradley (1922-2003) was the third generation of known basket makers in her family. Both her grandmother, Mary Dobson (b. circa 1857) and her mother, Nancy George Bradley (1881-1963) were accomplished basket weavers. Basket making was a family tradition; her father, Henry Bradley gathered rivercane and dug roots for dye materials.