This is a beer strainer made from plant fibre. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, various materials were used for weaving these strainers, from banana, rafia and bamboo. Various products were also used to make the beer, such as millet, sorghum, banana, and plaintain.
The beers were used as a social item, and also for libations.
Watch Natty Mark Samuels talk about our beer strainer here.
This stool is from Zimbabwe from a Ndbele village. Ndebele people are an ethnic group in southern Africa.
Small wooden stools like this are used in everyday life. This one has a simple and elegant design and is carved from local wood.
Some of the more complex ones, are supported by figures representing ancestors, and were originally symbols of authority for the elders. These ones were not used as stools. Stools which have a post in the middle are connected to Batonga mythology. The Tonga people are a group of people from Zambia and Zimbabwe. The seat of the stool represents heaven, the base represents the earth, and the post represents a tree, which links heaven and earth.
This is a finger knife used in Uganda by Karamojong for fighting. It has a semi-circular blade made of iron and bound with brass wire to an iron ring.
This is an Ugandan cupping vessel, made from horn. The practitioner would suck the air out of the instrument with their mouth, drawing out the venom, infection, or whatever else was trapped under the surface of the skin.
The Karamojong are a Nilotic people of north east Uganda. Like other Nilotic people, such as the more well known Maasai, their lives revolve around their cattle. The Karamojong also use tobacco as snuff
This head-carrying ring is used in regions of Africa to carry objects on someone's head - water pots, baskets and other, sometimes very heavy, items. This is often the most efficient way of transporting goods when there may not be access to transport. To prevent spilling or items falling off, the carrier (most often a woman) needs an upright posture and strength. Head rings can help by providing a stable basis for round bottomed pots or baskets.
This hair slide is from Ethiopia. It displays intricately detailed artistry.
The Beta Israel are a Jewish community that developed and lived for centuries in the area of the Kingdom of Aksum and the Ethiopian Empire, Most of the Beta Israel community emigrated to Israel in the late 20th century. They became well-known for their skill as silversmiths.
The Beta Israel lived in northern and northwestern Ethiopia, in small villages spread over a wide territory, alongside Muslims and Christians. They suffered religious persecution and a large number were forced into Christianity during the 19th and 20th centuries. The Beta Israel made contact with other Jewish communities in the twentieth century. Israeli officials decided in 1977 that the Israeli Law of Return was to be applied to the Beta Israel. At the end of 2019, there were 155,300 people of Ethiopian descent in Israel., more than half of whom had been born in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel is mostly composed of Beta Israel.
"All over sub-Saharan Africa, those expert in the fashioning of wood, have put that high skill level to the embellishment of doors. If we start over in west Africa, there are the Baule people of the Ivory Coast. More known for their figurative sculptures, which influenced artists such as Amedeo Modigliani, they produced doors bearing mask motifs and divination aids.
Going further east, we encounter the Edo of Benin City in Nigeria. As well as mastering brass casting and ivory carving, they produced doors featuring the royal symbolism of leopards and mudfish. Continuing east, crossing over from Nigeria to Cameroon, entering the Grasslands region, we meet the Bamum. Like the Edo, they carved zoomorphic as well as human figures on their doors. Stepping out of Cameroon and nation hopping to the coast, we come to the beautification by the Swahili. Zanzibar and Lamu, were two of the East African city states, trading across the Indian Ocean, renowned for their door sculpting. Remembering that Swahili comes from the Arabic word ''sahil,'' meaning coast, so like the food and the language, the door embellishment was influenced by the people the Bantu encountered on the Indian Ocean littoral, such as the Omani Arabs and the Gujerati Indians. Popular motifs included the lotus flower, the rosette and the palm and frankincense trees.
These doors were for the wealthier residents, teak often being imported for their use. The poorer citizen would use the wood of the mango tree. A great example of Swahili door sculpture is the House of Wonders, Zanzibar. The two lions above the door, resemble an image from a coat of arms and the door is framed by a geometric design of diamonds. When I think of words like ornamentation and ornate, I think of the adornments to be found, on the doors and chairs of Zanzibar and Lamu."
Text by Natty Mark Samuels
This triangular stool is in the traditional style of stool made in Pemba, using goat skins. Pemba is an island off the coast of east Africa.
The wood is painted ochre (red) black and white in Swahili style. The Swahili people live along the coast of Kenya and Tanzania.
This quiver was made from cowhide and wood, and would have contained poisoned arrows.
We have an agaseke basket in our collection.
Agaseke is a type of traditional Rwandese woven basket. It has a flat, round base, and a conical fitted lid. It is made of native natural fibres with patterns in purple, green, black, yellow, and red. There are many different patterns that can be displayed on the sides of the agaseke.
These baskets are used for holding gifts and food when visiting friends or attending a wedding. Because of this, they have become a symbol of peace and goodwill amongst friends and families. They are lidded, and incredibly tightly woven, which protects against pests and weather.They take a long time to make, and are made by women. Being able to make them shows great dedication to friends and family, and attention to detail. They are often given to brides to wish them good luck.
They have become symbols of feminine power, and are therefore often used in women's traditional dances . The dancers proudly show their baskets to the audience.
The handwoven rug from Ethiopia in our collection is made of goat's wool. The rug has an image of a large lion in its centre.
This lion represents the Lion of Judah. The Lion of Judah is a Jewish symbol, traditionally viewed as the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah. According to the Torah, the tribe consists of the descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The association between Judah and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his son Judah in the Book of Genesis.
Aspects of Ethiopia's history are recorded in a 13th-century document, the Kebre Negest. It tells how a group of Israelites returned with Makeda, theQueen of Sheba from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Through him, she conceived the Solomonic dynasty's founder Menelik I. The Lion of Judah featured prominently on the old imperial flag, currency, stamps, and other items as a national symbol of Ethiopia.
The Lion of Judah is an important symbol in the Rastafari movement. It represents Emperor Haile Selassie and is also a symbol of strength, kingship, pride and African sovereignty. Rastafari believe that the mention of "The Lion of Judah" in Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5 in The Bible refer to Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Watch Natty Mark Samuels, founder of the African School, introduce our Ethiopian rug here.