- On View
- Cultural Expressions Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Exhibition
- Cultural Expressions
- Created by
- Jackson, Mary A., American, born 1945
- Date
- 2014
- Medium
- sweetgrass, pine needles, bulrush and palmetto
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (2015.50.1ab): 11 7/8 × 18 1/2 × 15 3/4 in. (30.2 × 47 × 40 cm)
- H x W x D (2014.50.1a): 10 3/8 × 18 1/2 × 14 7/8 in. (26.4 × 47 × 37.8 cm)
- H x W x D (2015.50.1b): 2 5/8 × 15 3/4 × 15 3/4 in. (6.7 × 40 × 40 cm)
- Caption
- Mary Jackson is one of the world’s most highly-regarded Gullah basket-makers and an exceptionally skilled basket artist. She is known for her exceptional craftsmanship, creating baskets that derive from traditional forms in highly sculptural and expressive ways.
- This basket is a traditional grain storage basket, which were historically made by men for the storage of rice or rice seed. Jackson has continued to create these fundamental and historic “work baskets” because it references men’s work. It also references the rice industry and rice as one of the emblematic “cultural” food signifiers of the Gullah-Geechee people.
- Description
- A traditional sweet-grass basket made by Mary A. Jackson. The basket is wide and has a round shape that tapers slightly at the top. It has a flat bottom. The basket has two handles and a removable lid (2015.50.1b). The lid rests on top and has a narrow lip. The basket features different striations of color consisting of lighter and darker colored sweet-grass.
- Place made
- Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- West Africa, Africa
- Central Africa, Africa
- United States, Sea Islands, North and Central America
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
- Type
- baskets
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Agriculture
- Art
- Communities
- Craftsmanship
- Design
- Folklife
- Foodways
- Rice farming
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.50.1ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




