African sculpture speaks
by Ladislas Segy

Africa: The Art of a Continent
by Tom Phillips

Tribal Arts of Africa
by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart

Pottery in Africa

In Mali, where these beautiful incense burners are made, the traditional way of burning incense is to put a hot coal from the fire in the bottom of the incense burner, then to sprinkle the powdery local incense on top. Coincidentally, women on the other side of the continent (in Eritrea) do the same thing when making traditional coffee.

Why not use these lovely hand-made clay incense burners to simply fill your home with sweet scents of jasmin, patchouli, lavendar or orange? The cone syle incense which is readily available in stores will be the best choice, unless of course you care to try it the old African way!

Thanks to you, the ladies in Mali, Tunisia and South Africa who make this pottery will be able to better provide for themselves and their families. And, of course as she does for all your purchases, Mama will donate to a local NGO in Ghana which is working to improve the lives of women and children!

Tunisia's finest...

Below you will find an array of artworks brought to you from Tunisia. This small North African country has been known for generations as a place to find colorful, ornately decorated pottery. These pieces are all still made by hand on the potters wheel, then hand painted.

Tunisian pottery is highly collected and known for how sturdy, yet elegant it is. You'll find similarities with pottery from Algeria and Morocco; yet it has a style of its own.

Mama has selected a variety of colors and types of pieces to give you a feel for just how gorgeous their work is. Usually, Mama encourages you to take your time and select just the right piece. After all, these are works of art, not just bowls or candy dishes.

This time though, please don't take too much time deciding; because we've received many requests for pottery and are sure that these pieces won't last long!

This traditional couscous bowl measures 40 cm in diameter. Although it is normally used to serve a delicious dish called couscous; you will find that it also makes a wonderful fruit bowl. There are three different designs available a limited number of each is in stock. So if you are interested in ordering more than 4, please email Mama first to be sure we have them available.

If you are interested in putting the dish to its original use and would like a couscous recipe, we suggest you click here. Its a great site with a list of recipes from all over Africa.

The photos are fair representations of the bowl you will receive; but as with all hand made items, there may be slight variations.

Click here to enlarge map