Mande Potters and Leatherworkers: Art and Heritage in West Africa

by Barbara E. Frank

Among the Mande-speaking groups dispersed throughout much of West Africa, certain artists -- including potters and leatherworkers -- form a spiritually powerful social class in which gender determines craft specialization. Ceramic water jars and cooking pots are made by the wives and female relatives of blacksmiths. Leather objects such as knife sheaths, amulet cases, and, more recently, western-style shoes and bags are produced by male leatherworkers...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560989505
• ISBN13: 9781560989509
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.1" x 10.8"