The first of my African Souvenirs are two sets of figures, made from an ebony-like wood, probably finished with boot polish.
These also probably come from Kenya.
The right figure illustrates the women’s hard work of carrying water on their heads.
On the left is shown the practice by some tribes of piercing and enlarging the ear lobes.
A pair of letter openers.
Note the extended ‘hair-do’ fixed by clay!
A pair of bookends made from soapstone, purchased at Makatapura – where the Central Line begins the long climb up the Rift Valley Escarpment.
All these figures were collected in East Africa, mainly from Tanganyika – now Tanzania, during the early 1950s.
Joe Lucas August 2012
See Joe’s African Safari articles: [1] A bad shortcut down the Muse Escarpment!
[2] African 1950s Safari introduction
[3] WW2 dogfight – Before the Safari days
[4] 1950’s Mosal – Kurdish delight but very dangerous
