Boutique Sokofa
Artisanat africain fait main : paniers tissés, sculptures sur bois et masques sculptés par des artisans de tout le continent.
49 items
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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
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
Crafts
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
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.
Sold by Mlumun • Lagos, Nigeria
Crafts
A handwoven sisal kiondo tote in navy and cream stripes, with a tan leather flap that buckles shut and two adjustable leather shoulder straps. Most basket bags are open at the top. This one closes. A stitched leather flap folds over the opening and fastens with a long leather strap and a metal buckle at the front, so what you carry stays covered on a bus, in a crowd or in the rain. The shoulder straps have buckles of their own near the rim, so you can shorten them to carry it by hand or let them out to wear it over a coat. The stripes are three wide bands of navy between bands of natural cream sisal, a crisp, nautical look that suits summer, the beach and a plain navy or white wardrobe. If you want something softer and closer to the natural colour of the fibre, the store's cream and natural kiondo is the better choice. The body is twined by hand from natural sisal fibre, stiff enough to stand up on its own. The maker gives it as 32cm wide and 32cm tall, excluding the handles, and lists it as lined. Bags are flattened for shipping to keep the parcel small. This does no harm, as sisal springs back into shape once it is unpacked. Do not soak the bag. Wipe it with a dry or barely damp cloth and store it somewhere dry.
Sold by KIKWETU MAASAI STORES • Kenya
Crafts
A hand crocheted top handle bag with a large rose worked across the front, made in polyester yarn and finished with a metal chain strap. Choose pink, ash, brown or red. The rose is not a trim sewn on afterwards. It is crocheted in the same yarn as the bag and grows straight out of the front panel, which is why it keeps its shape instead of flattening in a wardrobe. It is the reason to buy this one rather than a plain crochet bag. Carry it short by the crochet handles, or let it hang on the chain. Polyester yarn holds its colour better than cotton in strong sun and does not go limp in the rain, which matters on a bag with a shaped flower on the front. Care: spot clean only, reshape the rose by hand while it is damp, and dry it flat away from direct heat.
Sold by Rachella'scrochets • Nigeria
Fashion Accessories
A small red top handle bag, beaded entirely by hand in Nigeria. Velvet is the maker's name for this deep red. Every surface is built from transparent faceted beads that catch the light from every angle, and a scatter of red leaf shaped beads climbs one side of the bag and spills over the edge, so it reads almost like a bouquet held by its stems. The two short handles are beaded in the same red and stand up on their own. It is a bag for evenings, weddings and parties, sized for a phone, keys, cards and a lipstick. If your outfit is plain black or white, this is the piece that does the talking. The bag measures 15 x 15 x 5cm, as the maker gives it, not counting the handles. Care: keep it away from sharp objects and do not crush it in a full bag. Wipe the beads with a soft dry cloth.
Sold by Beadsbyraysul • Nigeria
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
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
A men's polo shirt crocheted by hand in cream cotton blend yarn, worked in filet crochet so the geometric pattern is built from open squares and filled blocks rather than printed on. It has a folded crochet collar, a three button placket, short sleeves and a small tag stitched at the hem. The first photograph shows the actual shirt on a hanger; the photograph on a model is a styled image. Filet crochet is a counted technique. The maker works from a grid and decides square by square whether to leave a hole or fill it, which means the pattern across the chest is structural: it is the fabric, not a decoration added to it. Get a square wrong and the motif is wrong, so a shirt like this is slow work. The openwork is the reason to buy it. A crocheted shirt sounds warm and this one is the opposite, because roughly half the surface is air. It suits heat, coast and holiday dressing, and it wears well over a plain vest if you would rather the openwork were not quite so open. There are two ways to buy it. The finished shirt in the photographs is one size, and the maker's flat measurements are on the size chart in the images: shirt length 73cm, chest width flat 60cm, which is about 120cm around, sleeve length 27cm, cuff width flat 20cm and armhole 25cm. Compare them against a shirt you already own. If that size will not suit you, choose made to measure, give your own body measurements, and the maker will crochet one to fit, which takes about ten days before dispatch. The yarn is 55% cotton and 45% acrylic. Wash by hand in cool water, do not wring it, and dry it flat and out of the sun so the shoulders keep their shape.
Sold by Phanice Designs • Tanzania
Crafts
A handwoven sisal tote in two bands of cream and natural, with long tan leather shoulder straps, a printed cotton lining and a wooden button fastening. It is a real market basket rather than a basket shaped handbag, so it holds a laptop, a towel or a shop without losing its shape, and the straps are long enough to sit on the shoulder over a coat. The sisal is stiff enough to stand up on its own when you put it down, which is the difference between this and a soft straw bag. The lining is the part worth knowing about. Each bag is lined in printed cotton and the maker uses what she has, so no two linings are the same. The bag in the first photograph is lined with several different prints pieced together, navy with pink, gold and white figures. The bag in the second photograph has a single brown and gold print. Yours will be lined in a print of its own. The body is twined by hand from natural sisal fibre. The leather straps are riveted through the weave with copper rivets rather than stitched to a fabric tab, which is the join that usually fails on a basket bag. A wooden button on a leather cord fastens the top. It measures about 32cm wide and 32cm tall, excluding the handles. Bags are flattened for shipping to keep the parcel small. This does no harm, as sisal springs back into shape once it is unpacked. Do not soak the bag. Wipe it with a dry or barely damp cloth and store it somewhere dry.
Sold by KIKWETU MAASAI STORES • Kenya
Crafts
A handwoven straw basket bag with a deep violet cotton band around the rim, a long fringed scarf in the same violet tied at the front and twin braided rope handles. This is the plain one of the pair, and that is the point. The colour sits in one block rather than a print, so it goes with a patterned dress without arguing with it, and it reads as a handbag rather than a beach basket. If you would rather the bag were the colourful thing, pick the Sunset Stripe Woven Basket Bag instead. The body is plaited by hand in a close diagonal weave, so it stands up on its own and holds a good deal more than it looks. The scarf is threaded through a beaded loop at the front and carries fine grey and silver stripes through the violet, so it can be untied and worn. Keep it dry, brush the weave rather than washing it, and hand wash the scarf separately.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Fashion Accessories
A set of four handmade Ankara folding fans in assorted African prints. Each fan opens to about 28cm across and folds to about 23cm long and 5cm wide, closing into its own stitched handle case so it travels neatly in a bag. The four fans come in different wax print patterns, making the set ideal for weddings, church, warm days out, travel and gifting, with one to keep and three to share. They are made in Nsawam, Ghana by Ancient Culture, each one cut, pleated and stitched by hand. Because the set is assorted, the exact four patterns you receive may vary with available fabric, which makes every set unique.
Sold by Unite Root Africa • Ghana
Crafts
A small handmade Ghanaian djembe drum, 24cm tall with a 15cm drumhead. The carved wooden body carries a hand carved lion motif around the base, the bowl is wrapped in Kente patterned cloth, and the natural animal skin head is tensioned with traditional cord lacing, with a braided cord loop for hanging. It is made for light drumming, cultural displays, gifts and African inspired decor rather than performance volume. Handmade in Nsawam, Ghana by Ancient Culture, so every drum is cut, carved and skinned by hand and no two are identical. A lovely first drum for a child, a desk piece for an office, or a gift that carries a story.
Sold by Unite Root Africa • Ghana
Crafts
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
A handmade spiked beaded handbag in deep green with a pale yellow beaded handle. The rounded body is covered in pointed, faceted green beads set so the points face outward, giving it a spiked surface that catches the light in hard flashes rather than a soft shimmer. A thick arched handle of clear pale yellow beads rises over the top. It is a bold bag for an evening out, and it suits a darker outfit. Made by hand in Nigeria by The Mlumun Brand. Wipe with a dry cloth, and keep it away from fine knits, which the points can catch.
Sold by Mlumun • Lagos, Nigeria
Crafts
Flat leather thong sandals with a toe post that threads through two wide straps crossed into a woven knot over the vamp, handmade in Kenya. The knot is the design. Two broad leather straps cross over each other above the toes and the narrow toe post passes through the loop they make, so nothing sits glued on top and the straps hold one another. Every edge, the straps and the footbed alike, is finished with cream saddle stitching that follows the full outline of the shoe. There is no beading and no metal on this pair. It is plain leather and stitching, which is why it carries further through a wardrobe than a beaded pair does, and why it is the one to pick if you want a sandal you can wear to work and then to dinner. The footbed is flat with no heel. Sizes run UK 3 to UK 8. The pair photographed is the darkest of the three colourways, and the white and the tan brown are made in the same pattern. Wipe with a dry cloth, keep them out of standing water, and dry them away from direct heat.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
Dark brown leather slides with two wide straps crossing over the foot, a moulded tan leather footbed and a black sole, handmade in Enugu, Nigeria. The footbed is what separates these from a flat slide. It is shaped rather than level, with a raised arch and a shallow heel cup that stops the foot sliding forward, and the maker's name is blind embossed into the insole. Each strap is cut from a single piece of leather and set into the side of the sole unit, so there is no stitching across the top of the foot to rub. A small dark metal stud sits on the outer strap. They go with trousers as easily as with shorts, which is the point of a leather slide over a rubber one: smart enough to wear out, open enough for hot weather. Sizes run EU 40 to 46. The maker lists sizes in EU only, so measure against a pair you already own if you are between sizes. The sole is listed by the maker as Marco and rubber. Wipe the leather with a dry cloth, and if they get wet let them dry away from direct heat.
Sold by Bubee luxewalkers • Nigeria
Crafts
A woven straw basket bag with a giraffe print fabric trim at the top, dark bound handles, and a large giraffe head worked in beads across the front. The applique is the reason to buy this one. The giraffe is outlined and filled in individual beads sewn onto the weave, not printed and not glued, so it stands slightly proud of the surface and catches the light as you move. It takes longer than the basket underneath it. The shape is the standard Kenyan market basket, wide at the mouth with a flat base that lets it stand on its own, and it measures around 35cm by 45cm. Spot clean the fabric and keep the straw dry. Do not scrub the beaded panel.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
African products
A pair of hand carved wall masks, one male and one female, in sese wood with a dark brown finish, each about 46cm tall and sold together as a set of two. The female mask wears carved plaits falling either side of a ringed neck. The male has ears and a long carved beard. Both have slatted eyes cut right through the wood and a crest running over the crown, and on each forehead and cheek sits a panel with a punched, dotted border in copper and silver tones. The finish is rubbed back to show paler wood on the raised edges. The maker carved them as a pair to speak of complementarity: strength, protection and action in the masculine figure, nurture, wisdom and creativity in the feminine, and the idea that neither stands complete on its own. Displayed side by side they read as one piece, which is why they are sold together. If you want a single mask for a narrow wall, the same store's Prosperity mask is carved in the same wood. Each mask measures about 45.7 x 15.2cm (18 x 6in). Keep them out of direct sun and away from damp, and dust with a dry, soft cloth.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Crafts
Flat tan leather sandals with a beaded toe ring and a wide instep band worked in a red, black and gold zigzag of small glass beads, handmade in Kenya. The band across the instep is the work. Rows of small glass seed beads are stitched into diamonds that step across the strap in red, black and gold, and the beaded edge is cut into points so the band reads as a zigzag rather than a straight line. A smaller beaded tab in the same colours sits on the toe ring. This is a toe ring sandal rather than a slide. A narrow leather loop rises from the footbed and a toe passes through it, so the front of the foot is held by the loop and not by a strap across the top. If you have only ever worn slides it feels different for the first hour and then it stops being noticeable. The footbed is tan leather with cream saddle stitching all the way round, flat with no heel. Sizes run UK 3 to UK 7. Black and white are made in the same beaded pattern. Wipe with a dry cloth, keep them out of standing water, and dry them away from direct heat.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
A woven straw basket bag with a metallic silver blue lower body, a light blue fabric trim at the top, rope handles bound in matching print, and a striped turquoise and tan scarf tied at the front. The scarf is the part worth knowing about. It is tied through a dark band with a buckle rather than stitched on, so you can untie it and wear it, or take it off altogether and have a plain metallic basket instead. That makes this closer to two bags than one. It is a market and beach shape, wide at the mouth and flat at the base so it stands up when you put it down, and it measures around 35cm by 45cm. Spot clean the fabric and keep the straw dry. If the weave loses its shape, pack it out rather than folding it.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
A set of six small carved wooden bowls with fitted lids, handmade in Ghana. Each bowl stands about 7cm high and 13cm across, and each is finished in its own colourway with hand carved decoration, from an elephant to Kente inspired patterns, so the set brings a shelf to life as much as it organises one. Use them for shea butter, spices and dawadawa, nuts and dried foods, fruits and small snacks, or jewellery and other small personal items. They are carved by Ancient Culture in Nsawam, Ghana, and the natural wood grain shows through the painted finishes, giving every bowl its own character. Because each piece is individually handmade, slight variations in wood grain, colour, shape and finish may occur, and the set you receive may differ a little from the one photographed.
Sold by Unite Root Africa • Ghana
Crafts
Men's slides with two dark brown ribbed straps crossed over the foot, on a tan footbed with a raised rim and a black sole, handmade in Lagos, Nigeria. Crossing the straps means the hold sits across the top of the foot rather than on one band, and the rim of the footbed cups the edge of the foot. The ribbed strap gives the pair a softer, more casual look than a plain leather slide. This pair is offered in size 44 only. If you want something smarter in black, the same maker also makes a black leather slide with a woven embossed strap.
Sold by Mary_N Footies • Lagos
Crafts
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
Crafts
A two piece satin set in fine red and white stripes: a short sleeved button down shirt with a collar and a longer curved back hem, and matching shorts. It is the lightest set in the range and the one for holidays and hot days. Satin has a soft sheen that lifts a plain stripe, and the shirt is long enough behind to wear untucked. Worn on its own over white jeans or linen trousers, the shirt is a good piece in its own right, and the shorts pair with a plain white tee. The stripe runs vertically on both pieces. The shirt has short sleeves with a turned back cuff, and the shorts sit at the waist and finish high on the thigh. Sizes S to XXXL. Wash cool and gently, and iron on a low setting on the reverse, as satin marks easily with heat.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
Flat leather sandals from Nairobi with a beaded butterfly worked across the toe strap in copper, white and multicoloured glass beads. The butterfly is the reason to buy these. It is built up bead by bead and sewn onto the strap, not printed and not glued on, so the wings catch the light as you walk and no two pairs are spaced quite the same. The body is worked in rows of copper toned beads and the wings in mixed colours, and the whole piece sits proud of the leather. Underneath it is a plain, well made sandal. A stitched leather footbed with a tooled border, a toe post and a slim strap across the instep, and a leather sole. Nothing on the foot but leather and beads. The photographs show the brown colourway. Black is also available from the colour options. Choose your usual UK size. Wipe the leather with a dry cloth and keep the beadwork out of water.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
A handmade beaded handbag in a flame pattern of black, red and yellow. The box shaped bag is built from faceted beads woven in an open lattice: bright yellow along the base, red flames licking upwards, and black drips falling from the rim to meet them. A thick beaded black handle arches over the top, and a gold MLUMUN nameplate sits at the front corner. It is a bag to be noticed, made for evenings out and outfits in black or red. Made by hand in Nigeria by The Mlumun Brand. Wipe with a dry cloth.
Sold by Mlumun • Lagos, Nigeria
African products
A hand carved wooden wall mask in dark stained sese wood, 45cm tall, with closed eyes, a small carved head at the crown and patterned metal panels set into the brow and cheeks. The maker named it Intuition, for the kind of knowing that does not come through the eyes, and the carving is built around that idea. The eyelids are carved heavy and shut, the mouth is closed, and the whole face is long, narrow and still. In the maker's own words, when the eyes are silent, the spirit can see. What sets it apart from the gallery's other masks is the metal. Two triangles sit above the brows and two curved panels sit under the eyes, each worked with a fine pattern in gold and copper tones, and against the dark wood they catch the light while the carved face stays in shadow. If you want the same long face and carved crown without the metal, the Prosperity mask is the plainer sibling. If your wall is dark, the pale Enlightened One mask will stand out better. It is made to hang and suits a living room, an office, a hallway or a gallery wall, anywhere with enough plain space around it to be looked at properly. The maker gives the size as 45 by 15cm, about 18 by 6 inches. Every mask is carved by hand from a natural material, so the grain, the colour, the depth of the cut and the pattern on the metal differ from one piece to the next 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 pair of teardrop wooden earrings, each face hand drawn with a band of African geometric pattern and hung from a small white faceted bead. Light enough for all day wear. The pattern is worked freehand across the lower half of each drop, rows of circles, arcs and dashes, so the two earrings in a pair sit close but never match exactly and no two pairs are the same. The wood keeps its grain under a warm reddish finish. Each drop hangs from a wire wrapped loop on a silver tone fish hook. Handmade in Kenya. Keep them dry and wipe with a soft cloth.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Crafts
A working quartz wall clock set into a handmade sunburst of gold painted spoon heads, about 50cm across and 3cm deep. You are buying the complete clock, not a decoration to fit around one you already own. The square dial sits at the centre and the surround is built up by hand from rows of spoon heads, layered so the outer rows stand proud of the inner ones and catch the light as you move past. Every piece is placed by hand in Nigeria, so no two surrounds fall in exactly the same way, and the gold will read warmer or cooler depending on your wall and your lighting. Wipe with a dry soft cloth. Do not use water or spray cleaners on the painted surface.
Sold by Akbhandicraftventures • Nigeria
African products
A large hand carved wooden wall mask in warm red brown, 46 by 28 cm. The face is a single broad oval with a high carved brow, narrow pierced eyes and an open diamond mouth, finished in warm red brown with darker tones across the cheeks and crown. Carved from wood in Ghana, it hangs flat against the wall and reads clearly from across a room, which makes it a natural anchor for a hallway or a living room wall. It is the broadest mask in this shop's range: if you want a slimmer upright profile to hang beside it, see the shop's Intuition and Observer wall masks.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
African products
A hand carved wooden wall mask in pale sese wood, 45cm tall, with a hatched band across the crown and punched dot work over the brows and cheeks. The maker named it The Enlightened One, for the pursuit of understanding and the quiet that comes with it, and the carving is worked to match. The face is long and narrow, the expression still, and the eyes are cut right through the wood so the wall behind shows at the pupils. In her own words, look beyond the face and discover the wisdom within. The wood is the thing to notice. Sese is pale when it is left alone, and most carvers stain it dark, which is what the maker has done on her Prosperity mask. This one is left close to its natural colour, so the punched dot work reads as texture rather than shadow and the piece sits better against a dark wall or dark furniture than its stained sibling does. If your wall is pale, the Prosperity mask is the one to look at instead. It is made to hang, and it is photographed hanging. It suits a living room, an office, a hallway or a gallery wall, anywhere it has enough plain space around it to be looked at properly. The maker gives the size as 45 by 15cm, about 18 by 6 inches. Every mask is carved by hand from a natural material, so the grain, the colour and the depth of the cut differ from one piece to the next 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
African products
A hand carved wall mask in sese wood, about 45cm tall, with an elongated face, gently closed eyes and a small carved head rising from the crown. Carved scrolls rise over the brow, the hair is cut in fine grooves back from the forehead, and the small head above it wears its own tall ridged crest, which gives the mask its height and its presence. The finish is a deep, polished brown. The maker named it Prosperity for a life rich in more than money: wisdom, inner peace, growth, good fortune and the strength to move forward. The calm, closed eyed face is meant as a reminder that prosperity begins within and grows through purpose, patience and good relationships. If you would rather hang two pieces together, the same store's Male and Female pair is carved in the same wood. Each mask is carved individually, so the grain, the carving marks and small details will differ from the one pictured. It measures 45 x 15cm (about 18 x 6in). Keep it out of direct sun and away from damp, and dust with a dry, soft cloth.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Home Decor
A small hand carved wooden spoon with a black and white batik bone handle. The pale wooden bowl and stem are smoothly carved, and the end of the handle is sleeved in bone dyed black with a white zigzag pattern, the Kenyan batik bone technique. A size for sugar, spices, salt or a jar of honey. Hand carved in Kenya. About 18 cm long.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Home Decor
A drawstring bottle carrier sewn from red check Maasai shuka cloth with a black fabric top. It holds a standard wine or spirit bottle, closing around the neck with a red braided drawstring finished in wooden beads, and decorated with strands of blue, white and red seed beads ending in a small metal disc. It turns a bottle into a gift in one move, so it suits housewarmings, weddings, dinners and any occasion where the wrapping should say as much as the bottle, and between occasions it stores the bottle looking better than a box would. The maker gives the size as about 35 cm tall and 10 cm across the base. The carrier is sewn and beaded by hand in Kenya. Spot clean with a damp cloth and let it dry away from direct heat.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Arts
A hand carved abstract sculpture in mahogany, a single twisting form on a turned black base, about 33cm tall and finished clear over the grain. One piece only. The artist has titled it Transformation. In his own words it stands for the power of process when it is under the right influence, which is easy to see in the object: the wood is cut away until a solid block reads as something in motion, with the opening carved right through the centre so the light passes behind it. The twist is worked in one piece, so the grain runs continuously from the foot to the tip and the figure of the timber does the work that paint would do on a canvas. Mahogany is a close grained hardwood that takes a fine edge, which is what lets the carver leave the surface smooth enough to hold a gloss without losing the facets where the chisel turned. It is a free standing piece, not a wall work, so it needs a surface it can be walked around: a hall table, a mantelpiece, a shelf with some depth, or a desk. At 33cm it reads from across a room but does not take over a small one. The maker gives the size as 13 by 5 by 4 inches, which is about 33 by 13 by 10cm including the base. Care: dust it with a dry, soft cloth, keep it out of direct sunlight and away from a radiator, since heat and dry air are what split carved hardwood over time.
Sold by Repolly art • Nigeria
Crafts
Men's black leather slides with one wide strap embossed in a woven basket pattern and finished with a small black buckle, handmade in Lagos, Nigeria. Everything is black, the strap, the buckle, the footbed and the sole, so there is nothing shiny to date them and they sit as easily with dark trousers as with native wear. The embossed weave gives a plain slide some texture without adding any colour. Available in sizes 40 to 44. If you prefer something softer and more casual, the same maker's brown crossover strap slides are the other way to go.
Sold by Mary_N Footies • Lagos
Home Decor
A hand carved wooden butter knife shaped like a giraffe, its head forming the end of the handle. The pale wooden blade is smooth and flat for spreading, and the handle is carved as a giraffe's neck and head, marked with brown giraffe spots and a dark nose. Use it for butter, jam or soft cheese at breakfast, or give it as a small gift. Hand carved in Kenya. About 16 x 2.5 cm.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
African products
A pair of hand carved wooden wall masks, one male and one female, in a dark wood finish. Both faces are long and calm, with closed almond eyes, a fine ridged brow and a straight narrow nose, tapering to a point at the chin. The male mask has close cut hair carved in small notches. The female mask wears her hair high in a crest topped with a round knot, with carved ear ornaments at each side. Hung together they read as a couple, a quiet, balanced pair for a hallway, living room or office wall. The seller gives the size as 40.6 x 10.2 cm (16 x 4 in). Carved from wood by hand in Ghana. Dust with a dry cloth.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Crafts
A handwoven straw basket bag with a red striped cotton band around the rim, a matching fringed scarf tied at the front and twin braided rope handles. The stripes carry red, blue, yellow and deep purple all at once, which is the reason to pick this one: it does not need matching to an outfit, because most of your summer wardrobe is already somewhere in it. If you would rather the bag sat quietly against a printed dress, the Royal Purple Wrap Basket is the better buy of the two. The body is plaited by hand in a close diagonal weave, so it holds its shape when you set it down and opens wide enough for a towel, a book and the shopping. The handles are wrapped cord rather than plain rope, and the scarf is tied through a beaded loop at the front, so it can be untied and worn or retied differently. Keep it dry, brush the weave out rather than washing it, and hand wash the scarf separately.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
Flat leather toe post sandals with a polished tiger's eye stone set on the wide instep band and a matching stone at the toe, handmade in Kenya. The stone is the point of them. Tiger's eye is a banded quartz that shifts between gold and deep brown as the light moves across it, so a plain flat sandal picks up a glint with every step. One stone sits in a dark mount at the centre of the instep band, a second sits on the toe tab, and both band edges carry a fine punched border. The pair photographed is the red colourway and red is out of stock at the moment. Black, white and brown are the colours the maker holds, and none of them is photographed, so if the shade matters to you it is worth asking before you order. They are cut flat with no heel, which makes them a warm weather and holiday sandal rather than a walking one. Sizes run UK 3 to UK 8. Leather gives a little across the strap as you wear it, so take the smaller size if you are between two. Wipe the leather with a dry cloth, keep them out of standing water, and let them dry away from direct heat if they do get wet.
Sold by Alpha Threads Fashions • NAIROBI
Crafts
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.
Sold by Noah's Weave • Addis Ababa
African products
A long hand carved wooden wall mask with wave carved hair and gold coloured metal inlay. Deep wavy lines sweep down either side of a smooth domed forehead, which carries a diamond of embossed gold coloured metal. Beneath it, narrow eyes sit under carved brows, the cheeks are panelled in patterned metal, and the face narrows to a pointed chin. The seller calls it The Observer, for the watchful, quiet look of the face. The seller gives the size as 45.7 x 17.8 cm (18 x 7 in). Carved from wood by hand in Ghana. Dust with a dry cloth and keep the metal dry.
Sold by GOLDEN HERITAGE AFRICA GALLERY • Cape Coast
Crafts
A handmade crochet Christmas wreath, 30cm across, with a bow and three bells. The ring is worked in moss green yarn and edged with a deep red ruffle trimmed in white, so it reads as a classic red, green and white wreath from across a room. At the top sits a crocheted bow in white, red and green, with three crocheted bells, one red, one white and one green, gathered at its centre. Every part of it, bow and bells included, is made by hand in soft acrylic yarn, so there are no needles or glitter to shed, and it can be packed away after the holidays and brought out again next year. Hang it on a front door, a wall or a window, or lay it flat on a table as a centrepiece, as in the first photograph.
Sold by Esthercraftsiniciative • Kenya
Crafts
A hand carved wooden elephant with a polished, reddish brown finish. The elephant stands mid stride with its trunk hanging low, the ears carved in deep sweeping lines and the trunk cut with rows of small ridges. The tail curves away from the body as a separate loop of wood, and each foot is finished with carved toe detail. The figure is carved from a single piece of wood, and the grain runs in bands across the back and flanks, so the wood itself does much of the decorating. It suits a shelf, a desk or a mantelpiece, and makes a good gift for anyone who loves elephants or Kenyan craft. Care: dust with a soft dry cloth. Keep out of direct sun and away from damp, and do not soak or wash.
Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Guide d'achat
L'artisanat est le cœur de la culture matérielle africaine : paniers tressés en herbe à éléphant et en sisal, poteries façonnées selon des techniques plus anciennes que le tour, bois sculpté à la main, et textiles (Adire, Aso-Oke, kente, batik) teints et tissés comme ils le sont depuis des générations. Tout ce qui figure dans cette catégorie est fait main par un artisan indépendant, jamais reproduit en usine.
Pour choisir, laissez-vous guider par la matière. Les pièces tressées (paniers, nattes, plateaux) sont des objets du quotidien solides. La céramique et la poterie portent des styles régionaux que l'on peut rattacher à des communautés précises. Les sculptures vont du bol utilitaire à l'œuvre sculpturale. Les textiles patrimoniaux se portent, s'accrochent ou se transforment en autre chose, et beaucoup d'acheteurs les font encadrer.
Fait main veut dire variation : l'émail coule différemment sur chaque pot, deux sculptures n'ont jamais le même grain, et les bains de teinture changent subtilement d'un lot à l'autre. Chaque annonce décrit ce qui est constant et ce qui varie, pour que vous sachiez exactement quel genre de pièce unique vous recevez.
Questions fréquentes
Sokofa (sokofa.com) est une place de marché en ligne d'artisanat africain authentique : masques muraux et figurines Akuaba sculptés au Ghana, paniers tissés à la main d'Éthiopie et du Kenya, et sacs-paniers tressés, fabriqués et vendus directement par des artisans africains. Chaque produit est examiné avant sa mise en ligne, et tout l'artisanat est expédié dans le monde entier avec un paiement sécurisé.
Oui. Chaque produit sur Sokofa est examiné avant sa mise en ligne, et l'artisanat de cette catégorie est fait à la main, tissé, tourné, sculpté ou teint par l'artisan nommé sur la fiche produit. Les petites variations d'une pièce à l'autre en sont la preuve.
L'Adire est un tissu yoruba du Nigeria teint à l'indigo par réserve ; le kente est le tissage de prestige aux couleurs vives des peuples ashanti et ewe du Ghana ; l'Aso-Oke est un tissu yoruba tissé à la main, traditionnellement porté pour les grandes occasions. Chacun est une technique distincte avec sa propre histoire, et les annonces vous indiquent de laquelle il s'agit.
Les textiles sont expédiés pliés ou roulés selon leur taille. Les acheteurs les portent, les accrochent, les font encadrer ou les transforment en coussins et en vêtements. Ils sont faits pour servir. Les conseils d'entretien figurent sur chaque annonce ; la plupart préfèrent un lavage doux à froid ou le nettoyage à sec.
Tous les articles sont expédiés à l'international, avec des coûts confirmés au moment du paiement. Si un article arrive endommagé, contactez le service client dans les 48 heures suivant la livraison et l'équipe réglera le problème.
