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Woven arts - Village crafts
Khmer basketry items have been woven with rattan and other natural fibers and have been produced for everyday life : to store vegetables, spices or delicacies. A long time ago, villagers used to apply lacquer to waterproof, improve their durability or flexibility. This knowledge disappeared the past thirty years for lacquer was difficult to find and the work arduous.

We has revived the tradition of lacquered basketry. Each of the item presented here demands an average of 3 months to come to the finished product. The lacquer (Melonorrhea Usitata) comes from the Cambodian province of Kompong Thom.

The artisan who has worked on these items is a woman who has been particularly attentive to reveal the patterns of each piece in using uniquely two palettes of colors : red lacquer which is obtained in mixing with the Chinese Red Cinnabar; and Yellow lacquer is obtained with the Chinese Yellow Orpiment.
 
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