We have spoken before about the long tradition of Indigenous makers producing works for trade with settler and travelling audiences, using established techniques while adapting familiar European forms to appeal to an expanding market. By the early 20th century, this practice had become increasingly inventive, as makers explored what a basket might become beyond its customary function—particularly for the modern home, where buyers sought objects that were both decorative and useful.

This planter is a particularly imaginative example. Rather than taking the form of a conventional lidded basket or trunk, it rises on a woven foot and slender stem, its tightly worked surface arranged in repeated diamond patterns that resemble orderly rows of corn kernels. Coiled construction was especially well suited to such an object: firm, durable and remarkably water-resistant, it provided considerably greater stability than the material might suggest.

The form itself is unexpectedly elegant. The rounded foot narrows into the stem before expanding into the broad, open body of the planter, giving the whole the appearance of a ceramic chalice turned on a wheel. Above, the rim is finished with two sweeping openwork loops, their paired curls forming an almost crown-like flourish. One can easily imagine the work standing apart among a maker’s other offerings, and later occupying pride of place in a purchaser’s home.