Sokofa Shop
African Crafts Online — Handmade Baskets, Ceramics & Textiles
Discover handcrafted African crafts — woven baskets, ceramics, wood carvings and heritage textiles made by skilled artisans across Africa.
9 items
Crafts
Small Ethiopian Jewelry Basket
This small handwoven basket comes with a fitted lid and no handles. The basket and lid are both made in Ethiopia from natural dry grass woven entirely by hand. The lid sits snug on the basket and lifts off easily. The small size works perfectly as a jewelry box on your dresser, a keepsake box for small items, or a bedside table box for glasses, phone, or wallet. The natural grass gives a warm golden brown color.
£50.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Medium Ethiopian Woven Basket
This medium basket features two brown leather handles stitched directly into the woven grass. The body is made in Ethiopia from natural dry grass and the handles are cut from brown genuine leather. Unlike baskets with tied or knotted handles, these handles are stitched flat against the grass for a cleaner look and a more comfortable grip. Use it to carry bread to the table, hold fruit in your kitchen, or take it to the market for shopping. The natural grass gives a warm golden brown color and the dark brown leather handles add a simple contrast. The medium size fits comfortably in one hand or over your arm. No machines or factories.
£98.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Ethiopian Grass Decor Basket
Ethiopian Grass Decor Basket, handwoven from natural dry grass with genuine leather handles. The body is woven entirely by hand using natural dry grass. Each piece of grass is selected and woven tightly to create a strong, durable basket. The leather handles are cut and attached by hand, giving the basket a clean finish and making it easy to carry or hang.
£95.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Large Ethiopian Lidded Basket
This large handwoven basket comes with a fitted lid and no handles. The basket and lid are both made in Ethiopia from natural dry grass woven entirely by hand. The lid sits snug on the basket and lifts off easily. The large size works perfectly as a laundry basket in your bedroom, a blanket storage box in your living room, a toy box in a child's room, or a decorative storage piece anywhere in your home. The natural grass gives a warm golden brown color. The lid keeps contents dust free and hidden. No machines or factories are used.
£120.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Ethiopian Woven Serving Basket
This small serving basket is handwoven in Ethiopia from natural dry grass with genuine leather handles. The body is made entirely by hand using dried grass woven tight and strong. The leather handles are cut and attached by hand making the basket easy to carry and perfect for serving bread, fruit, snacks, or small items at your table.
£65.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Large Ethiopian Laundry Basket
This large handwoven basket comes with a matching lid and genuine leather handle, making it perfect for laundry, home decor, or extra storage. The basket is made in Ethiopia from natural dry grass woven entirely by hand. The lid fits snug on top and the leather handle is hand cut and attached for easy carrying.
£140.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Ivory Reef - Cowrie Shell & Pearl Handmade Handbag
An occasion bag covered entirely in cowrie shells, pearls, small seashells and beads, in ivory and pale cream, with a curved top handle. Handmade one at a time. There is no plain surface anywhere on it. The body and the handle are worked over completely with cowries, pearls in three sizes, small scallop and conch shells, bugle beads and tiny fabric bows, so the whole thing catches light the way the inside of a shell does rather than reflecting it flatly. Ivory, pearl and shell is a wedding palette, and that is where this bag earns its keep. It suits a bride who wants something other than a satin clutch, a bridesmaid, a mother of the bride, or any white tie or all white event where everyone else will be carrying something bought off a shelf. The cowries are not there as a seaside motif. Cowrie shells circulated as currency across West Africa for centuries, and they still carry associations of wealth and abundance, which is why they appear on ceremonial dress, crowns and bridal pieces rather than on everyday things. A bag covered in them is saying something specific, and it is not nautical. Every shell and bead is placed by hand, one at a time. That is why dispatch runs to two to four weeks and why no two bags are laid out identically. The maker's own words for it: someone sat down, created, corrected, adjusted, and poured their craft into something you can carry. Message us before ordering if you need the exact outside measurements, the handle drop, or what the bag holds, and we will measure the one going out to you. Care: shells and pearls chip if they knock against a hard surface, so store it in a dust bag with nothing stacked on top of it. Keep it away from perfume and hairspray, which dull the finish, and never let it get wet.
£83.00Sold by Mlumun • Lagos, Nigeria
Crafts
Ethiopian Woven Storage Basket
Ethiopian Woven Storage Basket, handwoven from dry grass with tied genuine leather handles. This handwoven basket features a unique leather handle design. Unlike standard baskets where handles attach at the top rim, these genuine leather handles are tied further down below the rim. This creates a deeper basket with a different look and feel. The basket is made in Ethiopia from natural dry grass woven entirely by hand. The body is tall and sturdy. The leather handles are hand cut, knotted, and secured below the rim so the basket opens wider at the top while keeping the handles low for easy carrying. This design works especially well for storing blankets, pillows, towels, or other soft items that need a deeper basket.
£115.00Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
Fante Asafo Flag - Handmade Appliqué Textile, 140 x 85cm
A hand appliqued Fante Asafo flag on cotton, 140 x 85cm. Leopards, an armed company and a Union Jack canton, worked in the traditional Ghanaian manner. Asafo flags, or frankaa, belong to the military companies of the Fante people along the coast of Ghana. Each company had its own, commissioned from a local flag maker, and they were carried at festivals and funerals rather than hung on a wall. They were never decoration. They were statements, and usually pointed ones. Almost every Asafo flag illustrates a proverb, and the proverb is usually aimed at a rival company. That is the convention the imagery here follows: two leopards, a small house, a company of figures marching in file with rifles, and the company number set in a panel. The boast is the point of an Asafo flag, not the animals. The Union Jack in the upper corner places the design in the colonial period. Flags made before Ghana's independence in 1957 commonly carried it, and after independence many makers replaced it with the Ghanaian flag. This one keeps the older arrangement. Appliqué on cotton, which means every element is a separate piece of cloth cut and stitched onto the ground rather than printed onto it. The leopards are worked in a spotted cloth, the figures in solid black, and the whole panel is framed by a sawtooth border in black, white, cream and ochre. The edges are fringed. To be clear about what this is: a contemporary flag made by hand in the traditional manner, not an antique. Genuinely old Asafo flags are extremely scarce and almost all of them sit in museums and private collections. At 140 x 85cm this is a large textile, and it works best hung flat against a plain wall where the appliqué and the fringe can be read properly. Above a bed, down a hallway, or in a room that needs one large warm object rather than several small ones. Care: hang it out of direct sunlight, which fades dyed cotton. Do not wash it. Dust it gently with a soft brush, or a vacuum on low suction through the upholstery attachment, and if it ever needs more than that, take it to a textile conservator rather than a dry cleaner.
£415.00£450.00Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Buying guide
A guide to authentic African crafts
Craft is where African material culture lives: baskets woven from elephant grass and sisal, pottery shaped on techniques older than the wheel, wood carved by hand, and textiles — Adire, Aso-Oke, kente, batik — dyed and woven the way they have been for generations. Everything in this category is made by hand by a verified artisan, never factory-replicated.
When you are choosing, let the material guide you. Woven pieces (baskets, mats, trays) are durable everyday objects. Ceramics and pottery carry regional styles you can trace to specific communities. Carvings range from functional bowls to sculptural work. Heritage textiles can be worn, hung, or sewn into something new — many buyers frame them.
Handmade means variation: glaze pools differently on every pot, no two carvings share the same grain, and dye lots shift subtly between batches. Each listing describes what is consistent and what varies, so you know exactly what kind of unique you are getting.
Common questions
About buying crafts on Sokofa
Where can I buy authentic African crafts online?
Sokofa (sokofa.com) is an online marketplace for authentic African crafts — handwoven baskets, pottery, wood carvings and heritage textiles like Adire, kente and Aso-Oke — made and sold directly by verified African artisans. Every maker is vetted before their first listing goes live, and all crafts ship worldwide with secure checkout.
Are these crafts genuinely handmade?
Yes. Every vendor on Sokofa is verified before listing, and the crafts in this category are made by hand — woven, thrown, carved, or dyed by the artisan named on the product page. Small variations between pieces are the proof.
What is the difference between Adire, kente, and Aso-Oke textiles?
Adire is Yoruba indigo resist-dyed cloth from Nigeria; kente is the brightly coloured prestige weave of the Ashanti and Ewe people of Ghana; Aso-Oke is a Yoruba handwoven cloth traditionally used for special occasions. Each is a distinct technique with its own history — the listings tell you which you are looking at.
How do heritage textiles arrive, and how should I use them?
Textiles ship folded or rolled depending on size. Buyers wear them, hang them, frame them, or sew them into cushions and garments — they are made to be used. Care instructions are on each listing; most prefer gentle cold washing or dry cleaning.
Do crafts ship worldwide, and what if something arrives damaged?
All items ship internationally with costs confirmed at checkout. If something arrives damaged, contact support within 48 hours of delivery and the team will put it right.