Ceramic kete

Description

Ceramic kete. Looking for cool ceramic gift? How about these beautiful kete. Also all hand-painted in our beautiful Aotearoa – NZ. A kete is a woven basket. The Maori would make beautiful woven kete from harakeke (flax). The kete were used for storage.

These kete are flat at the back, so you can easily hang them on the wall (there is a hole at the back of the kete). They also look pretty cool lying flat on the table. Maori culture inspires many artists including our ceramic artists. We love the bright handpainted pohutukawa and kowhai flowers.

Maori weaving, kete, korowai

Harakeke, flax, is used for weaving. Maori weaving is still very popular and the woven baskets and bags are used in everyday life. We use kete for our kumara (sweet potato).  We did a course once and could easily make a woven kete basket. However, the last time I tried (about 10 years later), I just can’t remember how to do the finishing touch of a woven basket. So another course in the future might be a good option.

Flax was also used for clothing, traps, toys, nets, ropes, mats. Weaving is traditionally done by women. Also the korowai, the traditional Maori cloaks, were woven by hand using flax fibres. These cloaks are treasured heirlooms and it can take up to 9 months to create a traditional Maori cloak.

More about flax weaving >>

Ceramic kete designs

• Pohutukawa, NZ native tree.
• Kowhai, NZ native tree
• Blue and green kete

Size ceramic baskets:

• approx. 12cmx14.5cm (4.72″ x 5.71″)

Or check out our pop-art pohutukawa on canvas >>