Tanzanian Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets

Lovely rare Zanzibar trunk, 19th century. Brass studded decorations all-over with brass clad panels. Three bottom drawers and top opens for storage as w...

Rare and unique brutalist bar cabinet decorated with hand carved bear. Koncz Vilmos (1932 – 2006). He started painting at the age of 30, using the following techniques: charcoal, pastel, oil. He has had solo exhibitions eight times in Budapest, and his works have been featured in seventeen group exhibitions worldwide. He was an experimental creator. Its more than 420 works include glass mosaics, terracotta, copper embossing and furniture carving. After his death, most of his oeuvre was “lost”. A decade and a half passed from painting to the first carvings. Middle Eastern and African culture had a major impact on his further artistic work. Traveled and created in Baghdad, Kuwait, Beirut and Tanzania. He became acquainted with the ancient folk art of the Makonde tribe, with carvings of ebony and ivory, which changed his creative career. When he made an authentic bracelet out of ivory, decorated with African motifs, the members of the tribe welcomed him among themselves. He became the tribe’s "Mister Vili." An exhibition of his painted paintings was held at the Kilimanjaro Hotel. He learned the machining of copper from the Arabs and the making of glass mosaics, and the tricks of jewelry making from the Hindus. He had forty large sculptures erected in various settlements of Hungary, mostly multi-field, made with a circular carving technique. Everything from ornaments on the table to the three-meter-high monument was found in his oeuvre. The Tiszakürt Arboretum also houses two wooden sculptures made of circular carvings: Tasso and the Tanzanian family tree. Donated works of his hometown: the 1956 headboard, the “Jászok” and “Kunok” (Old Hungarian Tribes), the “Flute”, the “Kolompolás” (Ringing the Bell) and the “Winged Altar”. In the 1980s, he also made carvings for the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden. His Ars Poetic was: “I do what I love, which drives from within, because I want to leave marks behind that I once existed and perhaps not uselessly” (2002). The term "Brutalist" originated from Le Corbusier’s Cité...

Rare early 20th century handcrafted Zanzibar blanket chest with brass metal overlay and brass studs throughout. The antique trunk is comprised of solid carved teak wood and features ornate brass interior hinges. The interior is also fitted with a candle box on the upper left corner. The chest is adorned with ornate brass metal corner plates and brass studs throughout, creating a series of geometric symbols and Moorish inspired patterns. The patterns on the top of the trunk are said to symbolize the Fountain of Youth. The chest features a hand-carved ebonized wood base and brass carrying handles. Exquisitely detailed with magnificent craftsmanship. Originally used for travels and often for the exports of good. Makes a great coffee table or accent piece or entryway chest.

A rare 18th century North African Zanzibar trunk, fashioned of cedar with studded decoration and clad with pierced copper panels. Used in Kenya and Zanzibar to store valuables and sp...

A rare mid 19th century Zanzibar chest out fitted with bronze sheet and brass studs in a stunning design on the front, sides and top. Dowry chests have a w...

A rare mid 19th century Zanzibar chest out fitted with bronze sheet and brass studs in a stunning design on the front, sides and top. Dowry chests have a well documented history...