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Collecting Baskets Avoiding Common Cases of Mistaken Identity

Hausa basket bowls and trays from Nigeria, Africa

Traditional Tribal Grain Basket (Nigeria), Baskets-Bowls

This is NOT a southwest Native American Indian basket

Baskets similar to this are often mistaken for, or misrepresented as southwest American Indian coiled baskets, but they are actually “fair trade” craft items made in Nigeria, Africa and sold around the world by the thousands. There is nothing wrong with the creation or sale of these baskets until they are marketed as something they are not. As a basket collector you need to be aware of what they are to protect yourself from individuals who deliberately misrepresent them or are ignorant of their true origin. Avoid anything described as "southwestern design". That phrase is a tip off that the basket is not authentic.

Southwest baskets are more likely than other categories to be fraught with fakes, forgeries and cheap imports that become misrepresented or mistaken for authentic Native American baskets. Baskets with “southwest designs” created in countries including Pakistan, India, Africa, Mexico, South America and other foreign countries are wholesaled by dealers, often to shops in the American southwest. This has been the case for years, so people who bought baskets on family trips to places like Arizona decades ago are now offering them for sale believing they are authentic, when they are not.

Here are examples of fair trade vendors, affiliate program participants and drop shippers offering this type of new coiled grass African basket along with a typical description.

"Each basket has been individually hand-woven in Maidguri, West Africa by the Hausa people. The Hausa people collect various grasses, which they harvest every summer and weave into these grain bowls. The baskets are given as wedding gifts to save and store grain and they even double as decoration when not being used. Each basket varies in size and design displaying the desires of the individual craftsmen, making each piece unique. The handcrafted nature of this product will produce slight variations in form and sizing. All measurements are approximate. Imported."
"Add a colorful touch of Africa to your home with this traditional tribal grain basket."

Grass Baskets from Nigeria
Round Fruit Basket Coiled of Grass from Nigeria
Exotic and Handmade Home Decor Items from Around the World
Traditional Tribal Grain Basket (Nigeria) Wholesale Prices
Traditional Tribal Grain Basket (Nigeria), Baskets-Bowls
Africa Direct
Froogle Search for African Baskets
Google Product Search for Nigerian Basket
Google Product Search for Hausa Basket

I find it is a good idea to run a search on a product search engine such as Google to determine if there are mass marketed baskets that match descriptive terms of any piece being offered.

Is This Basket a Fake?
Other fakes, frauds, forgeries, low quality reproductions, rip offs and common cases of mistaken identity in the field of basketry.

More Basket Collecting