The basket was taken from Le Printemps of Bordeaux (master Jacques Girouard), a French ship bound from Saint Domingue to Bordeaux, laden with sugar and indigo, which was captured on 21 June / 2 July 1747 in 'Laxey Bay' near Cape Finisterre by the Western Squadron under the command of Admiral Peter Warren. It was removed from the Le Printemps at Plymouth. The basket along with papers aboard was transferred to the High Court of Admiralty in London as legal evidence should the legitimacy of the capture be challenged.

The basket had passed hands several times. All we know at present is its journey, from an African or Afro-American woman, to a French captain, a court, and a government archive. The basket’s fabric, its origin, and its changing ownership asks for collaborative research with scientists from the geographical, social and cultural context of origin. The physical state of the basket’s survival needed highly specialized conservation efforts, which were admirably achieved by Camilla Camus-Doughan, the former conservator at The National Archives responsible for the treatment of the Prize Papers. In collaboration of historical and natural science, and with the development of techniques for 3D reproduction a basis is formed to adequately meet  the scientific, political, and contextual challenge of interpreting such objects through multiple perspectives, addressed through collaboration between current custodians, and researchers from Europe and from localities of origin.

Prize Papers Project, Göttingen Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, www.prizepapers.de