Fanner Basket
Daten. d.
MediumSea grass and reeds
Dimensions4 × 19 3/4 inches (10.2 × 50.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Elizabeth Millar Bullard.
Object number1926.86
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextThe Penn School on Saint Helena Island, S.C., was founded in 1862 in an area occupied by the United States Army, by northern philanthropists and missionaries for former plantation slaves. Over the years, with continuing philanthropic support, it served as school, health agency, and cooperative society for rural African Americans of the Sea Islands.
Originally, shallow baskets like these were used to remove the rice grains from the husks. They were much larger, three feet or more in diameter. Pounded grains of raw rice were placed in fanner baskets so that the rice could be tossed in the air or dropped from one basket into another. Through this process, the wind blew away the chaff and the rice would be ready for processing. The distinctive Lowcountry region of the Carolinas and Georgia and the nearby Atlantic Sea Islands culture are now part of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a federal National Heritage Area.
Place MadeSt. Helena, South Carolina, United States of America
