Hand-woven from strips of palm leaves, traditional baskets like these, called tanates de palma in Spanish, are both pretty and functional. The precision of the weaving and geometric perfection of the design is all the more impressive considering that the weavers make up the designs as they go. We purchased these particular baskets at Mercado Benito Juárez, from a weaver named Valería.
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Valería, whose baskets were by far the finest we
saw in our market tour, hails from the town of Miahutlan de Porfirio Diaz, a
region known as the “Canal of the Corn Tassel” during the Aztec period. She
learned the ...
Read More
Valería, whose baskets were by far the finest we
saw in our market tour, hails from the town of Miahutlan de Porfirio Diaz, a
region known as the “Canal of the Corn Tassel” during the Aztec period. She
learned the art of basket-weaving from her mother, who learned it from her
mother, who learned it from—well, you get the point. When asked where she gets
her designs, she laughed and said that they were all in her head. It takes her
about a day to weave the smaller baskets and three days to weave the larger
ones, and even as we spoke she was working away, her hands flying.
Read Less
Details and Dimensions
A (left): 6" ht, 5" diameter
B (right):13" ht, 11" diameter