Cretan handicrafts over the past few centuries have been limited to essential items, while trade in a closed economy society was generally in the form of barter. The exhibition presents the products of the main traditional crafts necessary to the survival of a rural community.
CRAFTS
Basketry
This is the ancient craft of basket weaving, which probably emerged at the end of the Palaeolithic period.
In Crete there are 25 types of basket, constructed with seven different weaves. Some of these types and weaves are now only found in Crete, while in the rest of Greece they fell into disuse at the turn of the 20th century. There were basket weavers scattered across Crete, serving the needs of the local community. The inhabitants of a few isolated villages in unproductive areas specialised in basketry. They transferred their products on pack animals to neighbouring districts and markets, where they were usually bartered for cereals, legumes, olive oil etc.
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