Old East African beaded drinking vessel There are a few cowries

There are a few cowries missing as can be seen in the photos

There also appear to be the remains of what looks like white “kaolin” type paint which may originally have been applied over the top of the copper face

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

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

The whole structure has been mounted on a black wooden base

Old East African beaded drinking vessel There are a few cowriesThis 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