65/322

Kentish kibsey,

Gilbert Thomas Hambrook Nason (Manufacturer)

This fruit basket, for picking soft fruit such as strawberries and raspberries, is of a type known as the ‘Kentish kibsey’. The word kibsey is believed to derive from the Romani ‘ripsi’. It was made by G. T. H. Nason, who made baskets to order for fruit farmers in Kent. This is a one gallon round kibsey, common in East Kent although not often ordered. It is a round basket, made of white willow, with a wire handle.

1 basket: willow (white); cane

Visiting researcher note, Mary Butcher (basketmaker), 7–8 October 2014 – Nason was blind, and stopped work in 1967. The kibseys made by him in the MERL collection have never been used. Packing a kibsey so that it contained the right volume of fruit was a skill in itself. Mary was taught that a ‘kibsey’ was specifically a flat-backed basket, but Dorothy Wright did speak to Nason, so the definition of a kibsey may vary., MERL ‘Stakeholders’ recording form, October 2014 – Object number: 65/322 (Soft fruit basket) // Name of recorder: Mary Butcher // General construction method: Stake and strand. // Overall shape: Round, top and bottom. // Materials: White willow with an upsett of Palembang cane. // Base: 5 sticks, shaved on underside. Knot made with butts worked to tips, new butts pricked in. All worked on an odd number of sticks as 2 are put together. Pairing all through. Crowned. // Sides: 19 stakes, 3 at point where 2 base sticks are together. Upsett – Palembang cane. 4 ends pricked in – in front of 3 behind 1 wale, one full round. Tips tucked through to base. 3-rod wale in white willow, starting with tips, 1 butt join and back to tips. Slewing with fine tops, 3 rod. 2 strokes with 1, 2 strokes with 2, then 3. At top goes down to 2 and then 1. Not rapped hard. No wale or pairing. // Border: 3 rod behind 1, rather angular. // Handles: Wire with hooks into loops in basket. Home-made and put into slewing before border is worked. Loop strands proud of border. [Diagram] // Lid: – // Dimensions: Base 6” (5.3cm); crown 1” (2.5cm); width across base after upsett 7” (18cm); height to top of border 8 ¾” (22.5cm). Outside Measure (OM) at top 10” (25.4cm). Inside measure (IM) diameter 8” (20.3cm). Height of centre of handle above crown 12” (30.5cm) // Anything else to note about this particular basket: – // Anything else to note about this type of basket: –, MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: Basket (strawberry) // Acc. No.: 65/322 // Group: HARVESTING. FRUIT // Neg. no.: 60/6342 // Place of origin: Canterbury (Nason) // Period in use: Present // DESCRIPTION // Materials: white willow // Shape and construction: Round. Slewed side. Border 3-behind-1. Wire handle. BS. [number of bottom sticks] 5 1/2. St. [number of stakes] 19. // Dimensions: Diameter top: 8 1/2” Diam. bottom: 6” Height 8” // Use: For picking soft fruit, particularly strawberries & raspberries // Dialect names: Kibsey or Ripsey. Kentish slang ([Dorothy] Wright) from Romani Kipsi [Ripsi] // Distribution: East Kent. Not often ordered. // Additional notes:'

Canterbury

1930-01-01 - 1965-12-31

Mid-twentieth century

Wood, willow, white, Plant fibre, rattan

Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)
Butcher, Mary (Recorder)