Abein

human history

Abein. Basket. This is a woven basket, made with an attached lid and side handles. It has been woven into a rectangular form. It has been made from three material components: te ira (pandanus leaf), te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage) and te nimwaerere (cordage of human hair and coconut sennit fibres). The exterior is made up of of a plain woven surface from te ira. A raw form of te ira features in a dark brown colourway and has been used to create alternate patterns in the weave across the sides of the abein. A long strand of naturally pale yellow te ira has been used to border the top edge of the abein. It has been secured down with a blanket stitch using te nimwaerere. Two lopped handles made of te kora and encased with te ira have been attached adjacent to each other on the long edges of the rectangular form. One handle has become detached exposing the loose kora. The top of the abein is covered with two flaps that cover the opening. The edges of these two flaps are also finished with a naturally pale yellow te ira and te nimwaerere blanket stitch. A corner of the woven structure of one of the front facing flaps has become loose. Two smaller flaps have also been added to cover the short sides of the abein. Inside the abein, a seperate plain woven interior of te ira has been inserted, also mimicking the exteriors flapped lid construction. A fasten made of a loose strand of te kora appears at the centre front, top edge of the abein.

Accession number: 1986.105 Last Update: 25 Jul 2019
Other Name

Basket

Te kete

Place
Kiribati
Accession Number

1986.105

Accession Date

May 1986

Other Id

52056 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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14 Images
Abein, 1986.105, 52056, Photographed by Daan Hoffmann, digital, 31 Dec 2018, Cultural Permissions Apply Cultural Permissions Apply
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