Root Baskets, Bowls & Vases

5 star rating

October 3, 2007

Cris B. 346 reviews Send Message | Add to Friends

Chinese Fir Tree Root Carvings Support Families

As I zigged and zagged my way between other consumers and overcrowded isles toward the register, cart heaped with Organika bath towels, I passed a table top covered with an eclectic array of primitive and beautiful handcarved root baskets, bowls, serving trays, and a vase. Carved from the root of a Chinese Fir Tree, this one-of-a-kind vase, like all the other organic accent pieces on the table, were worth far more than the price tag on them. This vase with it's unique character, shape, cracks and grain will be my mother's Christmas present; it's a perfect accent for her log home!

I also loved buying this vase, because my purchase is part of a chain that links back to why it was made: the lack of reforestation of the Chinese Fir, which takes less than an hour to cut, but days of labor to dig up the root to replant a new tree. A farmer, in order to provide for his family, dug up the root, gave it to an artisan to carve, then sold for resale.

Photo: also available at Viva Terra [$$]

Did you think this review was helpful? (0)

Email to a Friend

Comment on Review