Tuareg Tooled Leather Box

A slim reddish box with a stepped lid and a quarter-moon panel on top.

This tooled leather and wood box is Tuareg, from Mali, West Africa, and is contemporary. Tooling means pressing and cutting patterns into leather, and Tuareg makers often add geometric designs that are repeated in bands. Shallow rectangular box with a layered lid and tooled border bands. A curved wedge shape and small leaf forms mark the top, beside a narrow vertical panel. The finish is glossy oxblood with small light scuffs at the edges. It is 7.75 inches wide, 5.5 deep and 2.25 high.

Built for small secrets, and dressed up accordingly.