Fidelstine Business, technology and trade
+44 7474 371109 Enquire

08 · African Craft & Ornaments

Four regions. Hundreds of years of skill.

Every Fidelstine piece starts with a technique that has been handed down for generations. We work with artisans in four regions of Africa, then refine the designs in the UK for buyers who care how things are made.

Cast brass head of an Iyoba, a Benin queen mother, wearing a tall beaded crown
Lost-wax casting: head of an Iyoba (queen mother) from BeninBenin City, Nigeria

West Africa

Nigerian metalwork, beads and cloth

Benin City · Abeokuta · Iseyin · Delta State

Cast metal, coral-bright beadwork and some of the continent's most celebrated hand-woven and hand-dyed cloth.

  1. 01

    Lost-wax casting

    A model is shaped in wax, sealed in clay and heated so the wax runs out. Molten brass is poured into the hollow it leaves, so every casting is one of a kind.

  2. 02

    Beadwork

    Coral, glass and stone beads strung and woven into necklaces, collars and ornaments by hand.

  3. 03

    Adire resist-dyeing

    Cloth is tied, stitched or painted with starch paste, then dipped in indigo. The covered areas resist the dye and leave the pattern.

  4. 04

    Silver filigree

    Fine silver wire twisted and soldered into open, lace-like designs.

  5. 05

    Aso Oke

    Yoruba prestige cloth, hand-woven in narrow strips on a loom and sewn together.

  6. 06

    Akwa-Ocha

    The white hand-woven cloth of the Anioma people of Delta State, worn for ceremonies.

  7. 07

    Luxury textiles

    Hand-woven and hand-dyed fabrics finished for garments, wraps and interiors.

Indigo adire cloth laid on grass, with rings of resist-dyed pattern and a patterned border
Adire: cloth tied and dyed in indigoSouth-west Nigeria
A weaver working at a narrow-strip loom, with finished Aso Oke cloth hanging above
Aso Oke woven in narrow strips on a hand loomNigeria
Heaps of strung Krobo glass beads in many colours
Krobo glass beads, fired in clay mouldsKrobo, Ghana

Ghana

Krobo glass beads and Adinkra

Krobo · Ntonso

Beads made from recycled glass, and cloth stamped with symbols that each carry a proverb.

  1. 01

    Powdered glass beads

    Krobo bead makers grind glass to powder, pack it into clay moulds and fire it, building up layers of colour.

  2. 02

    Recycled glass beads

    Bottles and broken glass given a second life as beads, one of the oldest recycling crafts in West Africa.

  3. 03

    Adinkra stamping

    Symbols carved into calabash stamps are printed onto cloth with a dark dye made from tree bark. Each symbol stands for an idea or saying.

A craftsman kneeling to stamp Adinkra symbols onto cloth with a calabash stamp and dark dye
Adinkra symbols stamped by hand with a natural dyeGhana
Close-up of patterned glass beads in blue, yellow and red
Krobo beads close up: colour built up in layersGhana
A beaded Maasai collar in red, blue, white and green hanging outdoors
Maasai beadwork, where every colour carries a meaningEast Africa

East Africa

Maasai beadwork and leather

Kenya · Tanzania

Bold, colour-coded beadwork and supple hand-worked leather.

  1. 01

    Maasai beadwork

    Collars, bracelets and ornaments where each colour carries a meaning, from courage to peace.

  2. 02

    Leather techniques

    Leather cut, stitched and finished by hand, often combined with beadwork.

A silver Agadez cross pendant lying on red leather
Tuareg silver: the cross of AgadezNiger, Sahel

North Africa

Tuareg silver and ebony

Sahara · Sahel

Engraved silver and dark ebony, made by the Tuareg smiths of the Sahara and Sahel.

  1. 01

    Tuareg silver

    Pendants, rings and crosses cast and hand-engraved with geometric designs by Tuareg silversmiths.

  2. 02

    Ebony inlay

    Dark ebony set into silver, a contrast that is a signature of Tuareg jewellery.

Photos show each tradition at its source. They are not Fidelstine pieces. Photo credits

What we make

Three collections

Our standards

Every piece, made the right way

  1. Made by hand

    Traditional techniques from West, East and North Africa, practised by the artisans who inherited them.

  2. Refined in the UK

    Contemporary UK design leadership shapes each collection for today's buyers.

  3. Recycled materials

    Recycled glass and reclaimed materials wherever the craft allows.

  4. Fair and traceable

    Artisans are paid fairly, and every piece can be traced back to the hands that made it.

Request a piece

Tell us what you're looking for

Whether it's a single piece, a commission or stock for your shop or gallery, we'll reply with what's available and how we can help.

  • Sourcing from all four regions
  • Commissions and one-off pieces
  • Trade and wholesale for retailers

1What is it about?
2Tell us more
Style of food
3Your details

We only use your details to reply to this enquiry. See our privacy notice.