Beaded Africa Map Wall Art, Red and White, Cowrie Shells

A hand carved Africa map in sese wood, covered in deep red glass seed beads, with Greek letters in white and a full border of real cowrie shells. This is the only map in the maker's lettered range with a shell border, and it is the reason to choose it. The cowries stand proud of the beadwork all the way round, so the piece has real depth and throws a shadow on the wall, where the flat beaded maps read more like a print. It suits a wall you walk past closely, a landing or an alcove, rather than one you only ever see from the far side of a room. The continent is cut from sese wood, a light Ghanaian hardwood that carvers also use for drums, then covered bead by bead in red with the lettering worked in white. Whole cowrie shells are set one by one around the entire coastline. The back is left as plain stained wood with a hanging hook fitted, so it goes straight onto a nail or a picture hook with nothing else needed. It measures about 28cm tall and 21cm wide. Dust it with a dry soft brush or a cloth. Keep it out of direct sunlight, which fades glass beads over time, and off a damp wall.