Tuareg Tooled Leather Box

The profile of a low, flat box, with a wavy band running its length.

This tooled leather and wood box is Tuareg, from Mali, West Africa, and is contemporary. The Tuareg are a Berber-speaking people of the Sahara and Sahel, and Tuareg leatherworkers are well known for decorated bags, cushions and boxes. Seen from the side, a long, shallow box with a stepped lid above a slim body. A wavy tooled line runs along the front, framed by thin straight grooves. The surface is dark reddish brown with a muted gloss. It is 9 inches wide, 6.25 deep and 2.25 high.

Low-key and long-winded about its decoration.