Products of folk art

Article of folk art - the wicker basket

In Hungary, the basket weaving as folk craft has been present for centuries. The wicker (Salix) belonging to the family of shrubs is the raw material of wicker or woven baskets. Its growing is done by propagation, and since it is very water demanding, it is planted chiefly on flood plains. One stock produces 8-10 rods, which are harvested late in the autumn.

After boiling, stripping and drying we obtain a golden yellow natural raw material. The dried rods are bound into small bolts by size and stored in this way until processing. Before weaving, they are placed into water for 1-2 hours, and the rods become easily pliable and processable.

The masterful manual skill and creativity of the basket makers enables this folk craft to be indispensable even in the modern world of today. These hand made wickerwork products are non-series pieces of work, since there are no two identical, only similar.

The durability and strength of these wickerwork products is increasable by lacquering and painting. It is worth renewing the woven products annually: washing thoroughly with scrub in water with the chill off and then lacquering after drying. In this way, the useful life of the wicker basket can be increased, and it will be almost the same when it was new.

The master artisans making woven products have been attaining the special weaving tricks for some generations, which the tradesmen making wicker furniture also employ. The wicker baskets and wicker furniture made this way are real folk art products.