Both containers are beautiful examples displaying fine decorations, the smaller example having a tightly woven fiber surface with a decorated wooden top. The containers were likely used to store incense crystals, a valuable commodity in the Somali culture. The larger wooden container has a very unusual woven base which has been stitched into the wall of the container, this is something I have never seen before. The smaller container seems to have been originally carved from one piece of wood with the fibre work woven to its outer surface.
Ex Private Collection, UK
Estimated Period: First Quarter of 20th Century
Height: 23cm and 20cm
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