Tonga Basket Natural (45-21) Sculptural A handmade Baule trade-bead necklace

A handmade Baule trade-bead necklace

carefully carving out the inside to hollow the core

Agathosma betulina (Buchu) leaves

Please note this advert is for one horn

The other part of the plant is the brown disc-like dry leaf at the bottom of the plant called the "shield frond" protecting the roots of the plant and keeping it's nutrients and water inside safe

Tonga Basket Natural (45-21) Sculptural A handmade Baule trade-bead necklaceA handwoven natural Tonga basket in Ilala palm These solid edged baskets are the pinnacle of the Tonga (Bathonga) basket maker's art in Zimbabwe and Southern Zambia. Woven from Ilala palm leaf, each starts as a square and is coiled into an almost perfect circle. The fine edging is known as snake's belly for its serpent scale pattern, and the soft natural tones come from dyes made with tree bark. Traditionally used to winnow grain, today they make