Basket distaff

Object/Artifact

-

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Basket distaff

Entry/Object ID

2024.25.1

Description

Basket, or cage, distaff, composed of a central faceted stick surrounded by eight narrow bent rods. The rods pass through a circular disk and curve inwards to attach to the bottom of the central rod.

Dimensions

Height

19 in

Width

7-1/2 in

Materials

Material Notes

possibly maple

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

Distaffs were designed to hold unspun fibers. Processed flax was dressed onto the distaff in a fine web, which allowed the spinner to draw the strands into a continuous, uniform yarn. This distaff appears on the flax wheel in Charles E. Moody’s c. 1900 photograph.