How to tell it is hand-woven
Turn it over. Hand-woven cane has slight variation in the spacing of the weave and the ends are tucked and bound rather than stapled. Machine-made trays sold as “cane” are often a plastic-coated fibre over a stapled frame, and they photograph almost identically.
The other test is weight. Real cane over bamboo is surprisingly light for its size.
What it is for
Serving, mostly. Tea and cups, fruit, the things that get carried from kitchen to veranda. It is not a chopping surface and it should not go near standing water.
Keeping it alive
Cane dries out. In a centrally heated flat in a cold country, that happens faster than it does in Assam. A wipe with a barely damp cloth once a month is enough to keep it flexible. Once cane goes brittle it cracks at the bends and there is no fixing it.
