This is a magnificent and large Chocho basket from the Borana people, (a subgroup of the Oromo people) of Ethiopia, with which they store milk, which they ferment to make a yoghurt.
These milk containers are hand woven from a yarn of plant fibers and decorated with aluminum wire. Then the tightly woven fibers are reinforced with a mixture of fat and a beeswax resin to make the vessel waterproof. The slightly smoky aroma of the basket comes from the charcoal cleaning process which it must undergo, involving glowing embers inserted inside to help the beeswax impregnate the fibres.
The ChoCho basket is old and has been used and has age appropriate signs of use.
It can be sold without the stand for $450, although the stand was custom made for the basket.
The basket is 24 ½" tall with a diameter of 14 ¾".
On its custom stand, it is 45" tall x 18 ½" in width.
