Fanning Basket

A staple on Lowcountry rice plantations, sweetgrass fanner baskets aided in rice harvesting. Enslaved women crafted sweetgrass baskets by coiling and weaving materials such as sweetgrass, marsh grass, palmetto leaves, and split white oak. Because fanner baskets were used for winnowing rice after it had been hulled, they were wide with a shallow edge and often included stronger materials such as split white oak to bind the coils and ensure their durability.

Fanner baskets draw their form from rice harvesting in West Africa. Enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas with their knowledge of rice growing and the tools needed. Although beautiful, fanner baskets were a tool that not only winnowed rice but also aided in the spread of rice as a cash crop in the Lowcountry.