Kuba Rattan Lidded Basket

Dark and slightly squashed, this woven lidded box has the look of a well-worn hat.

This lidded basket is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is woven rattan. The Kuba kingdom of central Congo is known for textiles, carved wooden cups and boxes, and finely worked decorative objects made of raffia and other plant fibers. A shallow lid with a peaked, softly square crown rests on a deeper base, both finished with a binding at the rim. The weave is fine and the tone is a dusky chocolate brown, darker toward the bottom. It is 5.5 inches high and 10.5 in diameter.

Hats were once made this carefully, and so were boxes.