Blanket Box with Tribal Carvings

Hello, I have a Blanket Box with various carvings. I thought it might be African, but the clothes look more European. Can anyone help to identify Country and/or Tribe?

Thank you

Additional Information -

I have included Full Images which I hope you can now see. In addition to the Blanket Box I purchased a few Wooden Plaques - A picture of one has been included as it looks as though it is from the same Country/Tribe.

I am unable to shed any light on where these items came from as the shop owner said that they were part of a house clearance, and they did not have any background information. The clearance included a number of wooden figurines and wood carvings, so I assume that they were part of a collection from a person that was well travelled and/or worked overseas.

 

Welcome, Ann.
Please go back and edit your post, selecting "full size" for your images. It will make it easier for us to see.

It is an interesting chest. Please tell us anything you know about the history of it - where did you acquire it? Were you told anything about its age?

My first impression is that it is west African - somewhere between Nigeria and Angola. The carving on one side appears to depict rope making, with a colonial overseer. Can you please include more photos of the entire scenes on all sides?

I may be able to be a bit more specific after some research.

 

Palm trees may be a hint. We have a lot around here in So Cal. I'm not sure that palm trees are native to Africa, but those palm trees don't look like Madagascar palms, where they are native.

 

Probably African oil palm, native to humid areas of west and central Africa.

 

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early condo's ??

 

is that a mining scene......with a colonial master and slaves ???

 

We need to see the right side of the scene to figure it out.

 

Yes, we do.

I agree, the carving look like they could have the same origin.
It certainly looks West or Central African, like 2many said. European style clothing is also worn in that part of the world.

 

Komo, your image is not loading, so I don't know what you are showing.

From Ann's new photos, it now looks like they are moving heavy boxes on rollers/skids, rather than making rope.

 

it's a wonderful box...

 

Thank you for your helpful responses. These will allow me to carry out a bit more research.

Initially I thought the front panel was depicting a Slave Ship but based on responses and the other panels I think that it may be showing exports of Fruit/Nuts/wood (?) as I can't see any chains etc.

For completeness I have included the full picture of the left panel as it appears to have been cropped in my previous photo!

 

I first thought the chest might be made by a Yoruba carver (Nigeria), with the squat figures and the large eyes. The Yoruba have a tradition of carving door panels with scenes of daily activities. But the figures on your chest lack the elongated heads more typical of the Yoruba style.

https://www.artkhade.com/en/object/PG8gkR/a-yoruba-door-by-oshamuko-of-osi-ilorin-nigeria

The roof style of the houses on the lid look similar to Ghanaian architecture of the Akan/Ashanti.

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/akan-architecture-africa-ghana.1687307/page-3

Ghana has become a center of wood carvings for export, in a variety of styles. I have not found any evidence of this form of chest among traditional West African furnishings, so I think they were probably developed as items for sale on the western market. I have found some examples of contemporary chests well attributed to Ghanaian carvers, (some made to order), as well as a few others attributed to Nigeria, and unidentified:

https://www.artmajeur.com/ebenezernanor/en/artworks/1509989/carved-wooden-african-chest
https://www.tribalvillage.com.au/product/wooden-tribal-chest-2/
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...a-carved-wooden-chest-honorin-82-c-7af41c5884
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/486740672238201569/
https://www.amazon.ca/African-Carved-Wooden-Handmade-Center/dp/B00UDTR9AC

The carvings on your chest are more interesting than most of the others I found. It appears to be in quite good condition. It could probably be dated to the second half of the 20th century, and I would lean toward the earlier part of this time range (perhaps 1960-1970s).

 

Wow! Thank you 2manybooks for all this information.

Based on your summary I think that 1960s-70s is about right as the hinges look relatively new and there are no signs that they have replaced older ones. The houses are certainly similar to the ones in Ghana.

I agree that the Carvings on my Blanket Box tells more of a story than the ones that you have found! If I find any additional information I will add to the thread

Thanks again for all your research. It has really helped to uncover the mystery of the carvings.