Ceremonial basket adorned with cowrie shells
date: label: Date
content: 2015
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
notes: label: Caption
content: This cowrie shell basket was created by artisans in Mossuril, Mozambique, in 2015 to hold soil from the region, which was then deposited at the site of the São José shipwreck. After a solemn ceremony on May 30, 2015, the village and tribal elder in Mossuril, Evano Nhogache, entrusted this basket to Lonnie Bunch, instructing him to place the enclosed soil as close to the wreck site as possible to symbolically reconnect those Mozambicans who were lost with their homeland. He then asked that the basket become part of the collections of the NMAAHC. On June 2, 2015, at a second memorial in Clifton, the soil was poured into the ocean near the wreck site. The slave ship São José Paquete Africa sank on December 3, 1794 off the coast of South Africa. It had left Mozambique 24 days prior bound for Maranhão, Brazil.
label: Description
content: A basket created by artisans in Mossuril, Mozambique for ceremonial transport of soil from Mozambique to the site of the São José shipwreck in Cape Town, South Africa. The round basket is in two parts, a base and lid, and is made from worked plant material. Cowrie shells placed closely together adorn and cover the outside of both the top and bottom of basket.
place: label: Place made
content: Mossuril, Nampula, Mozambique, Africa
label: Place used
content: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Africa
label: Topic
content: Craftsmanship
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Folklife
label: Topic
content: Middle Passage
label: Topic
content: Ornamentation
label: Topic
content: Trans Atlantic slave trade
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2016.168ab
objectType: label: Type
content: baskets
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: fiber and cowrie shell
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 5 5/8 × 6 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (14.3 × 16.5 × 16.5 cm)