Tuareg Eye Shaped Lidded Leather Box with Incised Design

Black drum of a box wearing a quilted lid and carved belts.

This eye-shaped lidded leather box with incised design is Tuareg, from West or North Africa, and is contemporary. It is leather & wood. The Tuareg are a Berber-speaking people of the Sahara and Sahel, known for leatherwork, silver jewelry and finely decorated everyday objects. Round, low container with a slightly domed, squared lid with a raised border. The sides are incised with leaf and chevron motifs and circles in vertical panels. Surface is dark, glossy and leatherlike with a stitched seam. It is 5.25 inches wide, 3.5 deep and 2 high.

Dark, tidy and very good at keeping its own counsel.