Made by Gullah artisans for more than 300 years, people in Charleston have been weaving baskets using locally-harvested bulrush, a strong yet supple marsh grass that thrives in the sandy soil of the Lowcountry. Years later sweetgrass, a softer, finer material, replaced bulrush as a primary material for weaving. Originally used as winnowing fans to separate the rice seed from its chaff, sweetgrass baskets are regarded among the nation’s most prized cultural souvenirs. The coiled sweetgrass basket is a historically significant example of African heritage transported here to South Carolina by enslaved African people. Today the West African descendants of Gullah Geechie ancestry keep the basket making tradition alive in Mount Pleasant & Charleston SC. The Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection includes a sweetgrass basket made by Mary Jackson of Charleston.

Please note:  Because these art pieces are 100% handwoven all sweetgrass basket products are one of a kind even though some of them look similar they are all different. No two pieces of sweetgrass art are the same. Measurements are given however all art pieces may be slightly different.