Sahrawi Decorative Objects

Oriented Stone Meteorite Circa 4.5 Million y/o Chrondrite Detached from its parent body by a mighty impact, this large, oriented meteorite travelled over a hundred million miles through space before falling to Earth in the North African desert. The cone-shaped nose is covered in beautiful regmaglypts which radiate from its apex. These elongated dimples formed when streaks of superheated molten rock streamed off the meteor’s surface as it blazed through the atmosphere. The entire piece is coated in a glossy, umber-coloured fusion crust and close examination reveals remnants of encrusted, orange dirt. A faint greyish-white shadow runs across one side, indicating where it sat, partially buried in the desert sands. Whilst most meteors tumble as they travel through the Earth’s atmosphere, oriented meteorites maintain a stable trajectory as they fall, their domed shape created by the intense heat of atmospheric entry. This phenomenon is extremely rare, with less than one percent of meteorites falling in this way. “This is a complete individual of an unclassified chondrite found in Northwest Africa. The conical shape and flow lines of melt on the specimen show that, unlike 99% of meteorites, this piece retained a constant orientation as it plunged through the Earth’s atmosphere. The characteristic shapes of such rare oriented stones were used as models to design the reentry capsules of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space...

Tribal wooden bowl. Strongly figured wood. Tuareg. West Africa, mid-20th century This striking wooden food or grain bowl comes from the Tuareg, a nomadic people of the West African ...

Tribal wooden bowl with carved design and leather tassel, from the Tuareg of the West African Sahel, mid-20th century. This wooden food or grain bowl comes from the Tuareg, a nomadi...

Tribal wooden bowl with carved design, 14" diameter. From the Tuareg of the West African Sahel, mid-20th century. This wooden food or grain bowl comes from the Tuareg, a nomadic peo...

Tribal wooden bowl with carved design, Tuareg of the West African Sahel, mid-20th century. This wooden food or grain bowl comes from the Tuareg, a nomadic people of the West African...

Tribal wooden bowl with carved design, Tuareg of the west African Sahel, mid-20th century. This striking wooden food or grain bowl comes from the Tuareg, a nomadic people of the Wes...

Vintage African tribal element on museum mount. In my organic, contemporary, vintage and mid-century modern aesthetic. This piece is a part of Brendan Bass’s one-of-a-kind collectio...

Vintage African tribal element on museum mount.

Standing over 5 foot 3 inches this is a unique piece. The Senufo people of West Africa call these statues porpianong, referring to the hornbill as the “master among the birds.” Hornb...