Antique African Hausa Tribe Coiled Dowry Basket Cowrie Shell Woven Leather LARGE

Description: Antique African Hausa Tribe Coiled Dowry Basket Cowrie Shell Woven Leather LARGE. Wonderful Antique old Well Loved Handmade Tribal Hausa or Yoruba traditional Storage Basket with Lid from Nigeria, Africa. This is not a "tourist piece" made for export, and has signs of regular use over many years. It is rare to find an intact basket and lid set like this! These storage baskets have many practical daily uses and the addition of decorative Money cowrie shells further adds to their beauty and "worth". These Old Antique Money Cowrie shells, collected in the Indian Ocean, have been Traded and used as Money over Africa and other countries for hundreds of years. Old Money Cowries are used in Jewelry and attached to items as a show of Wealth and to beautify. Basket is sturdy enough to use, and lovely enough to display and enjoy! SIZE: Large. The basket itself is ~7 1/2" tall, base is ~7.25" wide, top opening ~9.5" across. The lid is ~12." across. Height with lid on is 13”. Basket and lid and shows signs of wear . There’s a couple of spots along the edge of the lid and basket where the leather has worn through. This is a relatively fragile piece considering it’s age. It clearly was used once upon a day, but we believe it should spend oats days as a shelf piece. All cowries appear to be present which is amazing. Inside of the basket shows the incredible detail that went in to making this piece. The seam on the leather trim along the lid of the basket is slightly lose, but the leather trim is still well secured. All in all an amazing and rare Hausa Basket. This was purchased from the estate of lifetime world traveler and collector of artifacts from across the globe. Please see pictures and let us know if you have any questions!

Price: 425 USD

Location: Renton, Washington

End Time: 2024-12-27T18:53:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD