Old East African beaded drinking vessel and slaves by exchanging currency

and slaves by exchanging currency 'bracelets' acceptable to the Africans

The hat is made for a small head and has an inside diameter of about 17cm

All the bones have a very pale white colour which would suggest that they were prepared in the second half of the last century

In the tree behind is a possum and the moon or sun is picked out in deeper carving as a white disk

The colour and patina of the bones show that this is an old example

Old East African beaded drinking vessel and slaves by exchanging currencyThis is an interesting item. It is an old beaded drinking vessel made from leather and wood. It looks to be East African, possible Maasai in origin and is certainly very old. The lower half of the vessel is wood with a wide band of leather very finely stitched onto the top. Looking from the inside, it appears that the stitching is so fine that it is waterproof. The whole thing has been painted with what looks to be red ochre with two black rectangles