63/165

D. Williams (Manufacturer)

This chestnut spale potato basket, a type used when planting potatoes, was given to the Museum by the Rural Industries Bureau. It was made by D. Williams of Llanbrynmair, Powys, in 1947. It is made of fine spale, probably chestnut, and is oval in shape with a space on either side of the rim to form two handles. This type of basket was traditionally made by the person who used it, rather than a professional basketmaker, but this example is of fine craftsmanship indicating that it was made by a master basketmaker and was never used for the purpose for which it was designed.

1 basket: fine spale (probably chestnut)

Rural Industries Bureau label – ‘DESCRIPTION OF ARTICLE: Potato Basket. B.19 (Old No. B.37) // PRICE. 40/– // DATE. Sept.1947 // NAME OF CRAFTSMAN. D. Williams // ADDRESS. Pencraig, Llanbrynmair, Mont.’, MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: BASKET (potato) // Acc. No.: 63/165 // Group: CULTIVATING Seeding // Neg. no.: 60/4716 // Place of origin: MONTGOMERYSHIRE. D. Williams. RIB. // Period in use: Made 1947. // DESCRIPTION // Materials: Fine spale probably chestnut. // Shape and construction: Oval. Frame type with a handle either side made by leaving the rim open. 9 spelks at the start. 3 more added at either side. // Dimensions: Length 24” Width 16” Depth 6” // Use: For planting potatoes. // Dialect names: // Distribution: // Additional notes: this type of basket is much older than the type with bottom sides woven on separate rods, & was originally made by artisan who used it rather than the basketmaker. The elegance of form & the craftsmanship of making this & 63/166, 60/768 mean, however, that they are the work of master basketmaker & were never in use for the purpose for which they were originally designed. See Stephens. Book of the Farm. [Stephens, Henry. ‘The Book of the Farm’. London, Blackwood, 1876] Vol.I. p.512'

Llanbrynmair

1947-09 - 1947-09

Rural Industries Bureau (Corporate Body)
Mahoney, E. W. (Agent)
Elson, M. (Agent)
Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)