Products

We stock a mix of traditional and contemporary items - made in Africa, or by Africans - from all over the continent. When purchasing our products, we specifically concentrate on quality. All of our items, except for one range of contemporary textiles, are made entirely by hand. Our range continually changes, as we acquire different pieces from time to time depending on availability. Please visit or check our site for new additions.

     Animals
Africans have traditionally viewed animals as being part of the human world, in that many species are imbued with definite characteristics that portray every emotion and aspect of life. Even the smallest may have power to influence or change events: for example, the Praying Mantis, believed to have been The Creator in some cultures. Folklore and legend in Africa are well populated with members of the animal kingdom.

     Baskets
All baskets in Africa serve a purpose; to winnow grain, to transport or store goods - even beer! Yes, Zulu baskets are so well woven that they can store liquid. Depending on climatic region, traditional baskets are made from grasses, reeds, palm or fibrous succulents such as agaves. Basket making has also evolved to make use of modern materials, such as plastic and telephone wire.

     Beadwork
This section of our site concentrates on the use of glass beads, which are used - specifically in South Africa - to great effect in the creation of jewellery, and the decoration of objects as diverse as dolls, gourds, placemats and pens, amongst other things, to produce contemporary products that draw on tradition for inspiration. We will also feature loose beads.

     Ceramics
Pottery and ceramics are usually produced by women in African society. As in the West, pottery serves a functional purpose; for cooking in, or for storing goods. After clay has been dug from nearby, it is rolled into coils, which are laid on top of each other and smoothed to form the pot. This is left out in the sun to dry for a number of days before being fired in a pit covered with wood and dry aloe.

     Special Pieces
In this section we will feature unusual, rare, or exceptionally good quality pieces. Most African art available on the market today is not antique - that is, over 100 years old. However, that does not mean it is not authentic. Ultimately, whether the piece is traditional or moves towards the contemporary, it is the talent and creative vision of the artist that makes any piece authentic.

     Figurines & Dolls
Figurines are used, amongst other things, to guard households or crops, and to protect ancestral relics, whilst dolls are usually associated with marriage and fertility. As in Western society, dolls are also used by young children to simulate childcare. Both are made in different forms, and from various materials, such as wood, clay or cloth. They are often decorated with beads, coins, shells and other organic items.

     Homewares
We stock a huge variety of items for the home, both decorative and functional. Wooden bowls and carved salad servers from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa; ceramic plates from Morocco, inlaid mother-of-pearl and paua shell jewellery boxes from Egypt, candles and candleholders, tablemats and more! For soft furnishings check our textiles section.

     Jewellery
Adornment amongst Africans is not only decorative - wearing jewellery also reflects status in society, age, religion and more. A wide variety of materials are used to make the jewellery that we may stock at any one time: metals such as copper, brass, nickel and silver; beads of stone, terracotta, glass, bone, Ostrich eggshell and wood; shells such as cowrie shells; leather and semi-precious stones.

     Masks
Worn on a variety of festive and every-day occasions, masks are used as tools to illustrate social parodies, encourage conformity, or to educate younger members of society. They are usually made of wood, although smaller versions are produced in metal. Wooden masks are often adorned with coloured pigments, as well as other materials such as shells, fabric, beads and coins.

     Metal
The skill of metal workers in West Africa - such as those that produced the famous lost wax method bronzes of Ife and Benin in Nigeria, and the goldsmiths of Ghana - astonished early colonial explorers. Contemporary artisans continue to produce traditional forms from traditional materials, as well as purely modern items from modern materials such as recycled forty-four gallon drums and wire.

     Music
Music is intrinsic to African life. Many different instruments create the rich sounds and rhythms now heard worldwide. These include drums of all shapes and sizes, thumb pianos made in box form or from half-gourds, rattles and shakers made from seedpods, dried fruits or woven grass, balophons - instruments similar to xylophones and marimbas - and many more.

     Paintings & Prints
Painting amongst Africans in the Western sense of the word is comparatively new. The tradition of painting however, is ancient; illustrated in body painting, painting on houses, on textiles, and in the earliest instances, on rock faces. More contemporary work can be seen in the Tinga Tinga paintings of Tanzania, and the emergence of fine art painters from the continent.

     Sculpture
Stone carving in Zimbabwe dates from as early as the 11th century CE. The inspiration visible in the contemporary stone sculpture of Zimbabwe (popularly known as Shona sculpture) is derived from myths, oral traditions, cultural beliefs and observations of the world around. The stone sculpture of Zimbabwe is now world renowned, and graces many significant art collections.

     Textiles
Fabric occurs in many different forms throughout Africa. Raw materials are often grown at source, and the material still hand-spun, woven, dyed and decorated in the traditional way. Vegetal fibre Kuba cloth and Kasai velvet from the Congo, Mudcloth from Mali and Kente cloth from Ghana are produced in this manner. Contemporary textiles draw on traditional patterns and colours for inspiration.

     Wood Carvings
Wooden carved items are abundant in both traditional and contemporary African art and craft. Masks, dolls and figurines from disparate tribes, doors from the Fang, Senufo, Baule and Dogon, stools and seats, wooden bowls and servers, unity stands from Ghana, colonial figures from West Africa, Makonde carvings and figures from Tanzania, and of course carved animals often feature in our collection.
 
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