Une sélection faite à la main pour le Black History Month : symboles Sankofa et Adinkra, perles maasaï, Akwete et Adire tissés et teints à la main, vannerie éthiopienne et œuvres originales d'artistes africains, achetés directement auprès des créateurs.
Arts
A hand carved sese wood wall mask, about 32cm long, beaded all over in tiny glass seed beads with the Sankofa bird across the brow and a rim of natural cowrie shells. The bird is looking back over its shoulder, and that is the whole point of it. Sankofa is an Akan adinkra sign from Ghana and the saying behind it is that there is nothing wrong with going back for what you have left behind. It is a piece for a wall you walk past every day, a hallway or a stairwell, where people come close enough to see that the pattern is thousands of separate beads and not paint. The bird is worked in royal blue with a yellow beak, set against red on one side and turquoise on the other, with green, yellow, black and white banding across the lower face. The carved brow, nose and lips are left as bare dark wood so the carving still reads through the colour. Natural cowrie shells run down both edges. Every bead is laid on by hand, one at a time. The back is hollowed with a chisel and left unfinished, and a braided cord hanger is fixed to a metal plate, so it arrives ready to hang. Dust it with a dry soft brush. Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from damp, and do not use cleaning fluid on the beadwork.
Sold by Malikhandicraft • Ghana
Arts
A hand carved Africa map in sese wood, beaded in the red, black and green of the Pan African flag, with a full border of real cowrie shells. The three bands run across the continent rather than sitting beside it, so the flag and the map are one object instead of a flag with a map on top. That makes it the piece in this maker's range to choose if you want the meaning to carry from across the room, and the cowrie border gives it enough depth to work in a hallway you pass closely as well. The continent is cut from sese wood, a light Ghanaian hardwood that carvers also use for drums, then beaded bead by bead in three blocks of red, black and green. Whole cowrie shells are set one by one around the entire coastline. The back is left as plain stained wood with a hanging hook fitted, so it goes straight onto a nail or a picture hook with nothing else needed. It measures about 28cm tall and 21cm wide. Dust it with a dry soft brush or a cloth. Keep it out of direct sunlight, which fades glass beads over time, and off a damp wall.
Sold by Malikhandicraft • Ghana
African products
In Her Arms is an original pastel pencil drawing of a mother holding her sleeping baby, drawn on a 35 by 23 inch chipboard panel by a Nigerian artist. The child rests in the mother's embrace, a quiet moment of warmth, trust and protection. The artist built the figures up in layers of colour, paying close attention to skin, expression and texture: look at the twisted braids gathered on top of her head, the baby's hand resting on her collarbone, and the blue and yellow cloth that wraps them both and picks up the colours of her earring. Beyond motherhood, the work carries a spiritual meaning for the artist. A mother's arms are one of the first places a child feels safe, and they point to the greater peace and protection found in God's care. What makes it special is its simplicity: it is a picture of what it feels like to be loved and safe enough to simply rest. This is a one of a kind original. If you are drawn to this artist's larger, more searching work, Bound by Silence is by the same hand. Pastel pencil on chipboard, 35 x 23 inches (about 89 x 58cm), portrait format. Pastel is a delicate medium, so frame it behind glass and handle it by the edges.
Sold by Ay's Pencils art gallery • Nigeria
African products
A carved wooden Akuaba figure, 25cm tall, with the large flat disc head of the best known Akan form, a ringed body and a beaded necklace at the throat. Akuaba means Akua's child. The name comes from an Akan account of a woman called Akua who could not conceive, was advised at a shrine to have a small figure carved and to carry and care for it as a child, and who later gave birth. Her neighbours are said to have greeted the baby as Akua's child, and the figures have carried the name since. They stand for motherhood, for healthy children and for a family line continuing. The carving follows the conventions rather than inventing them. The head is the flat disc that most people picture when they think of an akuaba, the forehead is high, which is read as wisdom, and the neck and body are ringed, which is read as health and wellbeing. The face is small and still against the size of the head, which is the whole effect of the form. Akuaba are carved by Akan peoples across Ghana, the Asante and the Fante among them. This gallery works from Cape Coast, which is in Fante country. It stands on its own base. The maker gives the size as 25 by 10cm. This is sold as a carved figure and a piece of Akan art. It is hand carved from a natural material, so the grain and the finish differ from one to the next, and the beaded necklace is strung separately and sits loose at the throat. Dust it with a dry soft cloth and keep it out of direct sun.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Fashion Accessories
A Maasai beaded headpiece worked in glass seed beads, with a structured beaded band, straps that cross over the crown and two fine metal chains that fall at the side. It is made for occasion wear rather than every day: weddings, naming ceremonies, cultural events, dance and photography, and it sits over braided or gathered hair. The beadwork runs in narrow horizontal rows of red, white, black, orange, blue, green and yellow. The rows are worked over fine wire, which is why the band holds its round shape instead of collapsing when you pick it up, and it is the part of the making that takes the longest. The straps that cross the crown are beaded on both faces and meet at a small beaded button at the top, which is also how the piece fastens. Two lengths of silver tone chain hang from the band with a small disc at the end. The maker gives the size as 45cm. Materials are glass beads, beading thread, fine wire, buttons and metal chain. Store it flat or on a stand so the band keeps its shape. Keep it away from perfume and hairspray, and clean it with a dry soft brush only.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Arts
A pair of hand carved wooden elephants, mother and child, each with a beaded blanket of tiny glass seed beads worked over the head and back. The mother stands about 10cm, the child about 7cm. They are sold as a set and they are meant to be kept as one. The small one stands a little ahead of the mother in the photograph, the way a calf walks, and that is how they look on a shelf: two objects that read as one thing. It makes them an easier gift than a single ornament, for a new baby, a nursery, or anyone who has been given an elephant before and has nowhere to put a second identical one. The beadwork is laid in bands of turquoise, red, yellow, royal blue, green and white, with a rosette worked over each ear. The legs, trunk and face are left as bare dark wood, so the colour sits on top of the carving rather than hiding it. Carved from sese wood in Accra and beaded by hand, one bead at a time. Dust with a dry soft brush, keep them out of direct sunlight, and do not use cleaning fluid on the beadwork.
Sold by Malikhandicraft • Ghana
Fashion Accessories
Handmade black leather T strap sandals, beaded in yellow, green, white and black, with cream cowrie shells set along the toe post and across the instep. The beadwork is worked in tight arcs that follow the shape of the strap, with cowrie shells running up the toe post and a second group set across the front of the foot. The footbed is stitched right around its edge rather than glued, which is what holds a flat sandal like this together through a summer. They fasten with long flat ties at the ankle, so you can leave them loose or lace them snug for walking. Flat and open, they suit hot weather, a holiday, or a long dress where you want the detail at the foot rather than at the heel. Cowrie shells were used as currency across much of Africa, including the East African coast, so on a Kenyan made sandal they are shells from home waters rather than a borrowed motif. Each pair is beaded by hand, so bead placement and the exact position of the shells vary slightly from pair to pair. Care: keep them dry, wipe the leather with a soft cloth, and store them flat so the beadwork is not crushed.
Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Arts
A signed limited edition print of Four Friends, an oil on canvas by the Lagos artist Chinemelu Ofoma. Four figures on a gold ground, unframed at 30 x 42cm. Four dark figures stand shoulder to shoulder, close enough that the arms of the outer two fall across the backs of the ones beside them. One wears a wide brimmed hat. They are painted almost as silhouettes, in thick black and brown strokes worked over a field of ochre and gold, with small birds scattered through the upper half of the picture. No faces are given, so what the painting carries is the posture of four people standing together, which is the whole of the title. The ground is where the oil paint is doing the most work. It is laid on in broad horizontal drags so the gold shifts between warm and pale across the canvas, and flecks of red and orange come through from underneath. Against that, the figures read as solid shapes cut out of the light. This is one of a limited edition of 100 prints on paper, each signed by the artist. It is supplied unframed at 30 x 42cm, which is standard A3, so it takes an off the shelf frame without a trip to a framer. It wants a wall with some room around it, since the four figures read as a group and crowding them with other pictures works against the subject. If you are after something quieter for a small wall, the same artist's My Baby print is two figures instead of four, and Nwannem is the larger A2 sheet. Care: keep it out of direct sunlight, which fades print pigment over time, and frame it behind glass rather than leaving the sheet open to the air. Handle it by the edges until it is framed.
Sold by Chinemelu Ofoma • Lagos
Fashion Accessories
A one of a kind tote handmade in Kenya from upcycled denim, given a second life with vibrant Ankara print panels, a row of natural cowrie shells and soft brown animal hide (rua) detailing. Metal eyelets and a gathered denim ruffle finish the front, and the twin denim straps sit comfortably on the shoulder. Because it is built from a single reclaimed garment, only one exists, so no two buyers will ever carry the same bag. Roomy enough for daily essentials, a book, a purse and a phone. Wipe clean with a damp cloth and avoid soaking so the shells and hide stay intact.
Sold by Nimmosita • Kenya
Arts
A signed limited edition print of My Baby, an oil on canvas by the Lagos artist Chinemelu Ofoma. Two figures hand in hand on a gold ground, unframed at 30 x 42cm. A tall figure walks forward with one arm stretched back, holding the hand of a slighter figure who is still half turned away. Both are painted as near silhouettes in black oil over a field of ochre and cream, and the brush is dry enough that the canvas weave breaks through the black in places, which is what gives the two bodies their texture. A few loose dark strokes sit low in the picture, the only other marks on the ground. The pull between the two figures is the subject. One is leaving the frame, the other has not moved yet, and the joined hands are the single point where the two shapes meet. The artist's signature is painted into the canvas at the lower right. This is one of a limited edition of 100 prints on paper, each signed by the artist. It is supplied unframed at 30 x 42cm, which is standard A3, so it takes an off the shelf frame. At this size it suits a narrow wall, a bedroom, a nursery or the side of a stairwell, anywhere a single quiet image works better than a group of them. If you want something with more people in it, the same artist's Four Friends print is four figures on the same gold ground, and Nwannem is a portrait of two siblings on the larger A2 sheet. Care: keep it out of direct sunlight, which fades print pigment over time, and frame it behind glass rather than leaving the sheet open to the air. Handle it by the edges until it is framed.
Sold by Chinemelu Ofoma • Lagos
Fashion Accessories
A two piece brass set: an open cuff with twin hammered bands crossed by a bar holding two cowrie shells and a white stone, plus a heart shaped ring. It suits anyone who likes bold metal that still reads clean. The cuff is built like a ladder rather than a solid band, so the two bands sit apart and the arm shows through the gaps, and the cowries stand out past the bands instead of sitting flat on them. That open, linear shape is what separates it from the maker's other cowrie cuffs, which are built around a solid disc or a stack of close set bands. If you want something quieter for every day, her single disc cowrie cuff is the softer buy. This one is for a bare arm. The ring is a hand hammered heart shaped shield with a cowrie held across the centre by two brass prongs. The dimpled hammer texture is raised enough to catch the light from across a room. Both pieces are made from brass the maker reclaims from scrap, which she describes as old padlocks and plumbing fixtures, melted down, sand cast and hammered by hand. The cowries and the stone on the cuff are set in soldered brass rims. The cuff and the ring are both open at the back and adjust by gentle squeezing or flaring. Keep the brass dry, wipe it with a soft cloth and store it away from damp. Brass darkens over time and a little metal polish brings the shine back.
Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
A Maasai beaded cuff banded in orange, white, black, red, yellow and blue, backed in leather and fastening with a press stud. Narrow enough to wear every day. The rows are worked in fine glass seed beads and held straight by pale spacer strips, and the whole band is mounted on leather so it keeps its shape rather than curling. The press stud means it goes on one handed, which is the practical difference from a tie or a slide fastening. The maker gives the length as 20cm. This is the everyday width. If you want the beadwork to carry a whole outfit on its own, the wide cuff in this shop is the deeper piece.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Home Decor
A round handmade coffee table in raffia rope, with a clear glass top. Natural raffia rope is coiled over a recycled tyre body. The Gye Nyame Adinkra symbol is worked into the top face in dark rope, and the table stands on four tapered brass tone legs. Most statement furniture has to fight for a job. This one already has the job of a coffee table, and it does its talking underneath the glass rather than on top of it, so the surface stays usable. The glass sits on four small metal posts just clear of the rope. That is what lets you read the symbol through it while still putting a cup down. The body is a worn out tyre, wound round and round with rope until the tyre disappears. The sides are banded in blocks of dark and natural rope. The symbol on the top is laid in by hand, coil by coil. Lift the glass off before moving the table. Dust the rope with a soft brush and keep it out of standing water.
Sold by NK Arts & Design • Ghana
Fashion Accessories
A wide handmade collar necklace in white and gold seed beads, netted into an open diamond lattice that fans out from the neckline over the collarbone and shoulders. It suits a bride, a wedding guest or anyone who wants one statement piece over a plain neckline. The neckline is worked in close rows of white with a fine gold line running through them. From there the beadwork opens into a lattice of white diamonds, with a single gold bead at every crossing and a gold drop at each point of the lower edge, so the collar catches the light as it moves. It fastens at the back with a silver tone lobster clasp and a short extender chain, which you can see in the first photograph, so it can sit a little higher or lower on the neck. The maker gives the neckline as 36cm around and the outer edge as 90cm around. Amani is the Swahili word for peace, a quiet echo of the store's own name: mulembe means peace in Lubukusu. Care: store it flat so the lattice keeps its shape, and keep it away from perfume and water.
Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Handmade beaded flower earrings with petals in red, white, green and black, the Kenyan flag colours, beaded around a faceted gold centre, on gold tone hooks. Nuru means light in Swahili. This is the flag version of the Nuru Bloom, and it is the more interesting of the two to look at, because each petal is a different colour rather than the whole flower being one, so the shape reads as a flower first and the flag second. That is the useful part. It carries Kenya without being a flag pinned to your ear, which is the difference between wearing it once and wearing it often. If you would rather have it plain, the white and gold Nuru Bloom is the same flower in one colour. The maker gives the flower as 4cm across. Every bead is threaded by hand, so the two flowers differ a little from each other. Keep them away from perfume, and store them flat.
Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
African products
A hand carved wooden wall mask, 38cm tall, with long hooded eyes cut in fine vertical lines, ears carved at the sides and a combed band across the hairline. The maker named it The Observer, for the wisdom that comes of watching before acting and listening before speaking. The carving carries it: the eyes are the deepest cut part of the piece, the lids heavy over them, and the ears are set proud of the face. The ears are what separate it from the rest of her masks. Neither The Enlightened One nor Prosperity has them, and on a face this long they change what the piece is doing, from a face being looked at to a face that is listening back. This is also the smallest of the three at 38cm, and the greyest, closer to weathered driftwood than to the warm brown of The Enlightened One or the dark stain of Prosperity. Pick by wall and by scale. The Observer suits a narrow space, a hallway or the wall beside a door, where a larger mask would crowd it. The maker gives the size as 38 by 15cm. Every mask is carved by hand from a natural material, so the grain, the colour and the depth of the cut differ from piece to piece and yours will not match the photograph exactly. Dust it with a dry soft cloth, and keep it out of direct sun and away from damp, which move and split wood over time.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Crafts
A handwoven palm basket bag from Zanzibar, about 60cm wide, with a printed cotton band and centre panel, cloth wrapped handles, small leather tabs and a tie closure. Kapu is the Swahili word for basket, and this is the everyday island shape rather than a version of it redrawn for export. It is wide and shallow and flares open at the top, so a towel, a book and a bottle of water sit side by side instead of stacking on top of each other. That is what you want from a market or beach bag and it is exactly what a narrow tote cannot do. The body is plaited from dried palm leaf, worked in Zanzibar in strips known as ukili. The printed cloth is stitched down the centre front and around the top band, the two handles are wrapped in the same cloth and anchored with small tan leather tabs, and a length of cloth ties the top shut. Choose Kitenge, the bold wax print, or Kikoi, the lighter Swahili coastal cloth. Brush it out rather than washing it, and keep it out of the rain.
Sold by Sunora • Tanzania
