The African Tonga baskets are exceptionally beautiful and chic. Designed with hands only by the artistic female weavers of Zambia, these African baskets are good for wall decoration. They can suit any wall of your house and go well with any other type of African bowls. As they are made of natural palm tree leaves and decorated with vegetable dyes, these baskets are totally natural. They can be great when you want your home to look more natural and stunning. Once you purchase your African wall baskets, the next challenge you might face is how to hang them attractively on your walls. The rest of this article gives you ideas on how to effectively hang different baskets on your walls.
Hanging your Tonga bowls
Tonga baskets are not as complicated as you might think when it comes to placing them on the wall. Most are relatively lightweight and will hang well with just a fishing line and a tiny nail. It does not mean that the only thing you can use is a fishing line. Get as creative as you can, including using a strong embroidery thread. When you are ready to begin, hold your African baskets up to a light source. This will enable you to see where to insert your fishing line or thread.
Make a loop closer to the middle of the basket you will work on first so that it will lay flat on your wall. Hang the loop on a wall hook. Real African wall baskets from the Tonga people have a thick square base, robust walls and a big circular rim. So you can alternatively drive a nail via the centre of your basket and use it to hang it on a wall.
How to hang other African wall baskets
While Tonga baskets are the most preferred wall decoration items, it does not mean that you cannot mix and match them with other kinds of baskets. A wide range of baskets can create dramatic wall effects if hanged artistically. There is one detail to note though; some baskets are very light in weight, have a flatter appearance and are knitted loosely. These are mostly the winnowing African baskets from Zimbabwe. They are the easiest to hang on a wall, of course, but they are so delicate and prone to damage.
There are also Shallow baskets designed by the people of Botswana. These have a soft surface due to their tight stitches and they only require a fishing line loop for hanging. Simply feed the line through several stitches and tie it into a loop. Hang the bowl on your wall using this loop. The Sisal baskets from Rwanda are effortless to hang because they are already equipped with a loop on the rear side.
The other kinds are the Rwenzori bowls. They are the most colorful baskets and they feature excellent geometric shapes and the softest surfaces. These African wall baskets are made in Southern Uganda. As they are tightly knit and are lightweight, you want to feed a fishing line from the front to the back of the basket before creating a loop. This work will be made easier by needle-nosed tweezers, as they will let you push the line between the basket coils up to the rear side. Place the loop over a wall hook and you are done.
The Chive baskets from Zimbabwe can go well with Tonga baskets because of their starburst motifs and thick, bulky coils. As they are bulky and tightly knit, insert the fishing line via many twine stitches prior to making a loop. Finally, if you get the Ugandan Bukedo and Raffia baskets that already have a loop in their rears; you won’t do more than just hanging them on a wall.