60/474

Kishie,

This is a ‘kishie’, a collapsible basket used in Shetland, Orkney and the West Highlands for carrying peat to the roads and for transporting it from the peat stacks to the fire. This kishie comes from Shetland and is made of straw and sisal rope. It is a round basket which tapers to a point, and has a straw handle which is knotted inside the basket by which it would be slung over the shoulder of the wearer, usually a woman. The basket is part of a large collection of traditional craft products acquired from the British Council.

1 basket: straw; string (sisal)

Visiting researcher note, Tim Johnson (basketmaker), 20 June 2014 – The construction of the base is unusual for a kishie and is such that the base has a hole in it. This was confirmed by Maggie Smith (basketmaker) as being unusual. The ropes are sisal [not coarse string as identified by Dorothy Wright]., MERL miscellaneous note, B. L. 22 March 1961 – ‘The British Council collection. // This collection of material which is covered by the accession numbers 60/430 to 60/791 contains examples of craft products made in the British Isles. The major part of the collection was prepared immediately after the Second World War for a travelling exhibition which was sent to Australia and New Zealand. // The collection was purchased for a nominal sum by the Museum in two portions, the one in the summer of 1960 and the other in February 1961. // For further details see the individual catalogue cards and the catalogue prepared for the temporary exhibition of the collection.’, MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: BASKET // Acc. No.: 60/474 // Group: HARVESTING. Peat // Neg. no.: 60/8737 // Place of origin: Shetland // Period in use: Pre-1945 // DESCRIPTION // Materials: Straw & coarse string // Shape and construction: Round, tapering to a blunt point. The warp is straw, the weft string paired in a spiral, 1 1/2”–2” between the rounds. The rope handle is of straw knotted inside the basket. The edge is turned over & paired down. // Dimensions: Diameter 22” Depth 20” // Use: Used on the shoulder, for carrying peat. // Dialect names: KISHIE // Distribution: // Additional notes: Mathing: see Fenton. Alex. & Laurenson J. F. Peat in Fetlar. FOLKLIFE. Vol. II. 1964. p.3–26. Plate I.II.III.IV.', MERL ‘Country Craftsmanship’ Exhibition Catalogue, 2 May–31 October 1961, ‘Introductory Note’ by Andrew Jewell – ‘The objects shown in this Exhibition of Country Craftsmanship were originally purchased by the British Council in 1946. They were selected for exhibition in Australia and New Zealand as samples of traditional handcrafts which were then being practised in the British countryside. The Museum of English Rural Life was fortunate to acquire this valuable collection from the Council and to have the opportunity of displaying such a wide variety of skills. // Almost all the crafts shown are still to be found in this country although, in the intervening fifteen years, many of the small firms and individual craftsmen whose products are represented in the Exhibition, have given up working. The number who now remain to carry on these particular traditional crafts continues to decline with the growth of mechanization, the obsolescence of their products and the difficult of finding apprentices to follow them. // All the objects on display have one characteristic in common – they were made to be used. Any aesthetic qualities which the craftsman achieved grew without self-consciousness. Over long years of apprenticeship the craftsman developed an intimate knowledge of the raw material at his disposal and its peculiarities. He acquired by inheritance the methods of his craft which may have had a continuous tradition over centuries of time. And he was quite familiar with the way in which his product was to be used. // We can derive pleasure simply by looking at the shapes and decorations. Both, however, are inseparable from function and environment, and the objects can only be most fully appreciated by an understanding of the purpose for which each was intended. // This, then, is an exhibition of everyday things, made by men and women who might not think of themselves as artists, but whose work, nevertheless, has enriched the daily life of those who live with their products.’, MERL ‘Country Craftsmanship’ Exhibition Catalogue, 2 May–31 October 1961, p.19 – ’207. Straw Kishie used in Shetland for carrying peat. The loop fits over the shoulders and the kishie is carried on the back. // (Origin unknown.)', British Council Ref. No. Not known.

Shetland [unitary authority]

Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)