Editing Wicker

{{short description|Objects made by weaving or plaiting flexible twigs or osiers}}
{{about}}
[[File:Apples in basket 2018 G1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A wicker basket filled with apples]]

'''Wicker''' is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as {{Circa|3000 BC}}. Wicker was first documented in [[ancient Egypt]], then having been made from pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. The word ''wicker'' or "wisker" is believed to be of Scandinavian origin: {{lang|sv|vika}}, which means "to fold" in Swedish.<ref name="dictionary">{{Citation |title=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wicker |year=2009 |contribution=Wicker |edition=Fourth |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |access-date=2012-05-19}}</ref> Wicker is traditionally made of material of [[plant]] origin, such as [[willow]], [[rattan]], [[reed (plant)|reed]], and [[bamboo]], though the term also applies to products woven from [[synthetic fibers]]. Wicker is light yet sturdy, making it suitable for items that will be moved often like [[porch]] and [[patio]] furniture.<ref name="alfresia1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.alfresia.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=wicker |title=Wicker |website=Alfresia |publisher=Vale Mill (Rochdale) Ltd. |location=Manchester |access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>  ''Rushwork'' and ''wickerwork'' are terms used in England.<ref name="arts">{{Cite book |title=The Forgotten Arts A practical guide to traditional skills |last=Seymour |first=John |date=1984 |publisher=Angus & Robertson Publishers |isbn=0-207-15007-9 |page=54}}</ref> A typical braiding pattern is called ''Wiener Geflecht'', Viennese braiding, as it was invented in 18th century Vienna and later most prominently used with the [[Gebrüder Thonet|Thonet]] coffeehouse chair.

==History==
[[File:Large Oval Storage Basket MET 36.3.57a-b EGDP011891.jpg|thumb|left|Wicker basket, Egypt, New Kingdom, c. 1492–1473 BC]]
Wicker has been documented as far back as [[ancient Egypt]], made from indigenous "reed and swamp grasses."<ref name=randomhistory>{{Cite web | url = http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/005furniture.html | title = From Egypt to the American Patio: The History of Wicker Furniture | publisher = Random History | date= 4 May 2007 | access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref> Middle-class families could only afford a few pieces, such as small tables.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Egypt/egyptian_social.html |title=Ancient Egyptian Social Life: Professions |first=Lisa |last=Kremen |date=29 April 1997 |access-date=11 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527133903/http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Egypt/egyptian_social.html |archive-date=May 27, 2007 }}</ref> However, archaeologists working on the tombs of the wealthy [[pharaoh]]s have uncovered a wider variety of wicker items,<ref name=saunders>{{cite book | last=Saunders | first=Richard | year=1990 |title = Wicker Furniture: A Guide to Restoring and Collecting | publisher=Random House, Inc.}}</ref> including "chests, baskets, wig boxes, and chairs".<ref name=randomhistory/>  Wicker even found use in the [[Achaemenid Empire]] on the battlefield, in [[shield]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.7.vii.html |title=The History of Herodotus |last=Herodotus}}</ref>

The popularity of wicker passed from ancient Egypt and [[Persia]] to [[ancient Rome]]. Wicker baskets were used to carry items in [[Pompeii]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4695097.stm | date = 18 July 2005 | title = Rare Pompeii dinner set unveiled | first = David | last = Willey | publisher = BBC News | location = Rome | access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref> Furniture was manufactured out of wicker in the Roman style.<ref name=randomhistory/>  It has been proposed that the extensive use of wicker in the [[Iron Age]] (1200 BC – 400 AD in Europe) may have influenced the development of the woven patterns used in [[Celtic art]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} By the 16th and 17th centuries, wicker was "quite common"<ref name=randomhistory/> in European countries like [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], and England.

[[File:Portable basket for tea utensils, by Hayakawa Shokosai I, Japan, Osaka, 1883 - Asian Art Museum of San Francisco - DSC01496.JPG|thumb|upright=.8|Rattan wicker basket, 1883]]
Wicker received a boost during the [[Age of Exploration]], when international sea traders returned from [[Philippines]] with a species of [[palm tree|palm]] called [[rattan]]. Rattan is stronger than traditional European wicker materials,<ref name=saunders/> although the rattan stem can be separated so the softer inner core can be used for wicker.

The 19th century brought immense popularity for wicker in Europe, England, and North America.<ref name=randomhistory/> It was used outdoors as well as indoors. People in the [[Victorian Era]] believed it to be more sanitary than upholstered furniture.<ref name=randomhistory/> It was inexpensive,<ref name=aiasf>{{cite web | author = American Institute of Architects, San Francisco | title = Victorian Cottage & Wicker Furniture | year = 2012 | url = http://aiasf.org/event/2012/09/11/victorian-cottage-wicker-furniture/ | quote = Wicker, another form of low-priced furniture, attracted even greater interest beginning in the 1850s and soon became a fixture in almost every American setting. Wicker furniture, suitable for parlor, porch or lawn linked the indoors and outdoors. Hundreds of patterns in wicker, mass-produced by dozens of forms across the country, illustrate the range and richness of Victorian fashion.}}</ref> resisted harsh weather and was adaptable to many styles.<ref name=aiasf/>

[[File:Armchair MET DP216214.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|Willow wicker armchair, c. 1907–13]]

In the United States, [[Cyrus Wakefield]] began constructing rattan furniture in the 1850s. He first used rattan that had been offloaded from ships, where it was used as ballast,<ref name="saunders" /> but as his designs became well-known, he began importing the material himself.<ref name="randomhistory" /> Wakefield's company became one of the leading industries in wicker furniture;<ref name="randomhistory" /> it later merged with the Heywood Chair Manufacturing Company (a wooden chair company<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.woodysantiques.com/aboutheywoodwakefield/index.asp | title = From Country Store to Modern Furniture: 100 Years of Progress | year = 2008 | access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref> that had invented a mechanical process for weaving wicker seats<ref name="randomhistory" />) to form the [[Heywood-Wakefield Company|Heywood-Wakefield]], one of the oldest and most prominent North American wicker manufacturers.<ref name="randomhistory" />

In Italy wicker furniture were presented in 1902 at the first exhibition of modern decorative art held in Turin. Antonio Dal Vera of Conegliano Veneto became the largest industry in the rattan furniture sector in Italy in the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Intrecci: il mobile in vimini italiano | last=De Guttry Irene e Maino Maria Paola | date=1995 | publisher=Il cardo Publishers | isbn=978-8-88-079051-8 | page=34}}</ref>

In recent times, its aesthetic was influenced heavily by the [[Arts and Crafts movement]] at the turn of the 20th century.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

Wicker is still a popular material. Antique wicker products are highly sought after by collectors. Reproductions of furniture and accent pieces are also sold for indoor and outdoor use.<ref name="alfresia1" /> (In North America today, "rattan" and "wicker" are frequently used interchangeably.) Wickerwork is an important industry in [[Poland]], employing hundreds of skilled workers to create goods for export to western Europe.<ref>{{cite news | title = Poland revives wicker tradition | first=Adam |last=Easton | publisher = BBC News | location=Rudnik-on-San, [[Poland]]| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4739481.stm | access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref>

[[Laundry basket]]s have been and are popular in Europe.

==Manufacture==
[[File:Making-skep-beehive.jpg|thumb|left|Handmaking a traditional [[skep|wicker beehive]] with [[straw]]]]
Natural wicker is well known for its strength and durability, as well as the high level of beauty and comfort that an expert craftsman can create. Materials used can be any part of a plant, such as the cores of [[Arundo|cane]] or [[rattan]] stalks, or whole thicknesses of plants, as with [[willow]] switches. Other popular materials include [[Phragmites|reed]] and [[bamboo]]. Natural wicker requires maintenance to keep it in good shape.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

[[File:Texture P7150078.JPG|thumb|upright|Natural wicker weave]]
[[File:Resin Wicker.jpg|thumb|upright|Resin wicker weave]]
Wicker can also be made from synthetic materials, or a combination. In furniture, such as benches, chairs, stools and other seating devices, a frame is typically made of stiffer materials, after which more pliant material is woven into the frame to fill it.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.latour-lith.nl/tuinmeubel-blog/wat-is-wicker.html |title=What is wicker? |website=LatourTuinmeubelen |language=nl |access-date=11 March 2015}}</ref> In a smaller piece such as a basket, a strengthening frame is not needed so the entire piece is woven from the wicker material.<ref>{{cite web | title = How to Weave a Wicker Basket: A practical guide | first = Jonathan | last = Ridgeon| url = http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/basicbasket.htm |access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref>

Synthetic types include paper-wrapped high tensile wire (using the [[Lloyd Loom]] process patented in the early 20th century), and [[plastic]] or [[Resin#Synthetic resins|resin]]. The synthetic wickers are often preferred for outdoor use ("all-weather wicker"). The frame material used in these more recent versions includes aluminum.<ref name="alfresia1" />

The largest basket vase in the world is located in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fewoco.de/index.php/weltgroesste-korbvase|title=Ferienwohnung Müller - Ihr Zuhause in Coburg - Weltgrößte Korbvase|website=www.fewoco.de|access-date=2019-08-19}}</ref>

==Etymology==
{{expand section|date=April 2018}}
The word ''wicker'' is from the [[Middle English]] ''wiker'', [https://www.etymonline.com/word/wicker meaning] 'willow, of [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian]] origin.<ref name=dictionary/>

== Image gallery ==
{{gallery
|mode=packed
|height=160
|Image:wicker.balloon.basket.bath.arp.jpg|A wicker [[hot air balloon|balloon]] basket capable of holding 16 passengers
|File:Turku cafe.jpg|Plastic-wicker chairs
|File:Triumph model h motorcycle of around 1914 arp.jpg|Triumph Model H motorcycle with wicker sidecar
|File:A Nigerian Man At Work.jpg|Man carrying tomatoes in wicker baskets, Nigeria, 2017
|File:Portugal. (A man carrying a jug.) - NARA - 541753.jpg|Man carrying a jug with woven wicker handle. Portugal, 1950
|File:WickerCatPole.jpg|A wickerwork [[cat tree]] from IKEA circa mid-2000s
|Artesana de Nuevo León, México.jpg|Wicker craftswoman in [[Nuevo León]], Mexico
}}

==See also==
*[[Rattan]]
*[[Wattle (construction)|Wattle]]
*[[Resin wicker]]
*[[Caning (furniture)]]
*[[Wicker man]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commonscat-inline}}
[[Category:Weaving]]
[[Category:Biodegradable materials]]
[[Category:Bamboo]]