<P> Wicker received a boost during the Age of Exploration, when international sea traders returned from southeast Asia with a species of palm called rattan . Rattan is stronger than traditional European wicker materials, although the rattan stem can be separated so the softer inner core can be used for wicker . </P> <P> The 19th century brought immense popularity for wicker in Europe, England, and North America . It was used outdoors as well as indoors . People in the Victorian Era believed it to be more sanitary than upholstered furniture . It was inexpensive, resisted harsh weather and was adaptable to many styles . </P> <P> In the United States, Cyrus Wakefield began constructing rattan furniture in the 1850s . He first used rattan that had been offloaded from ships, where it was used as ballast, but as his designs became well - known, he began importing the material himself . Wakefield's company became one of the leading industries in wicker furniture; it later merged with the Heywood Chair Manufacturing Company (a wooden chair company that had invented a mechanical process for weaving wicker seats) to form the Heywood - Wakefield of Gardner, Massachusetts, one of the oldest and most prominent North American wicker manufacturers . </P> <P> In recent times, its aesthetic was influenced heavily by the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th century . </P>

Where does the last name wicker come from