Sizes range from small, rounded baskets with lids to sets of larger, nested ones that can be stacked for display. Many of the carved figures on the lids are the same as the ones used on the handles of traditional betel nut crushers. Some of the ribald, humorous figures are from folktales. The Lombok carvers have a distinct, sinuous style. One animal merges into another or contains features from another creature.
Human figures crouch like frogs.
Monkeys play gongs and drums. A good carver can hold a block of wood with his feet and rough out a recognizable shape with his chisel and mallet in half an hour. Lombok baskets are exceptional examples of an artistic and utilitarian tradition combined into an evolving, dynamic craft. The bowls are also used as ceremonial offering bowls. Some have lids and some don't.