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Colorful Beaded African Wood Mask from Ghana, 'Abusua'

Product ID: U26795

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Colorful Beaded African Wood Mask from Ghana, 'Abusua'

5.0 (artist rating)

Delivery Estimate

This item is available for pre-order and will ship within 2 to 8 weeks. Learn More

Available in 2 to 8 weeks. Learn More

Details

Carved by hand, this wood mask features colorful beads for a vibrant design. Artisan Awudu Saaed of Ghana uses traditional hand carving techniques to make a mask from rubberwood with a rainbow of glass beads in a geometric pattern. In the Akan language, Abusua means "family."

Made in Ghana

  • Rubberwood, recycled glass beads
  • Intended as wall decor
  • Hand-crafted item -- color, size and/or motif may vary slightly
  • Free Gift Wrap? Yes
  • Premium Gift Wrap? No
  • 0.19 kgs
  • 0.4 lbs
  • Wood mask: 16.5 cm H x 11 cm W x 5.5 cm D
  • Wood mask: 6.5" H x 4.3" W x 2.2" D
View in metric units View in US/English units

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Awudu Saaed

Meet the Artist

Artfully crafted by Awudu Saaed from West Africa.

 

Meet the Artist

Awudu Saaed

Awudu Saaed

5.0 (artist rating)

"I was determined to make it and also be able to take care of my siblings. This inspired me to bear all these risks."

"I am a friendly but quiet person and, when I was a boy, I used to follow some friends back home after school. Their... parents had a workshop where carvers, designers, and finishers were always busy working, and I loved watching what they did and how they did it. Noticing my interest, I was given the opportunity to try my hands at sandpapering the carved items by observing the older people. As I improved, I began learning how to design and finish a product. I think that because I admired this work so much I was a fast learner.

"I had to drop out of school due to financial difficulties – mother was alone looking after us six children. I wanted to be able to help her, and so I decided to join the workshop full time. My younger brother also joined me and, together, we decided to work very hard so we could send the rest of our siblings to school.

"The master at the workshop knew of our situation and allowed us to sell some of the works we were able to finish by ourselves. That way we could make some money and take it home to add it to the little money mother was able to make.

"Our situation began to change gradually as I improved designing and finishing carved items. I was also taught how to carve masks, but I prefer designing and painting. I see myself more as a designer and a finisher. After serving a while under master Abdul Karim Star, another featured artist, I started to work on my own in 1996.

"Starting on my own was not easy at all, but what helped me was that, while working for my master, I used the little money I made to buy the basic tools I needed. I used to travel by road to Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso to sell my work at fairs.

"I was determined to make it and also be able to take care of my siblings. The long travel paid off, my works were selling well, and I was able to put my siblings through school. This inspired me to bear all these risks of traveling.

"However one day, on route with a friend to an artisan fair in Dakar, we were in a serious accident. We were traveling by bus and we had quite a few carvings we intended to sell. But the bus was fully packed and could not climb the hill on the border between Burkina Faso and Mali. The driver decided to reverse down and we ended up somersaulting into a ditch.

"It was 2 am when it happened, and all was very dark. My friend and I weren't as seriously injured as others so we walked to the nearest village with two other men to try to get some help. We told our story to the police, who drove us back to the accident. The most injured people had already been taken to the hospital so the police just left us there! We picked our belongings, rescued the carvings that hadn't been damaged and we hitched a ride into Dakar.

"Fortunately our client there helped us – we had spent the money we had in medical expenses. Our client got in touch with other people and they bought all the remaining pieces, and that was just about enough for us to be able to get back home.

"Once home it all sort of hit me and I got into a bad state – I didn't leave home or work for a year. Eventually, I realized our family finances were in danger and my brother needed help at the workshop. I went there and, after seeing everyone work so hard, I wanted to carve again. At first, it was tough to stop thinking about the accident but, through carving, I know I have overcome it.

"I have exhibited my work in Ghana's Trade Fair (in 2010 and 2011), and now I also train people as designers and finishers. Now three of these apprentices work with me while others have started their own workshops.

"My dream for the future is to further my education and expand my workshop to be able to train more people."

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Return instructions

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This item is available for backorder and will ship within 2 to 8 weeks. Artists love to get backorders. Placing a backorder ensures that the artisan will do their best to create and deliver your item to our local office for shipment.

Although we cannot guarantee availability, we do expect to be able to fill the order within the timeframe indicated. But sometimes life happens - special materials may not be immediately available to the artist, or there might be some other circumstance beyond our control that could delay the shipment.

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WOMEN S M L XL XXL
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
BUST 35 - 36 37 - 38 39 - 41 42 - 44 46 - 48
WAIST 27 - 28 29 - 30 31 - 33 34 - 36 38 - 40
HIPS 37 - 38 39 - 40 42 - 43 45 - 46 49 - 50
MEN S M L XL XXL
CHEST 36 - 38 39 - 41 42 - 44 46 - 48 50 - 52
WAIST 30 - 32 32 - 34 35 - 37 38 - 41 43 - 45
NECK 14 - 14.5 15 - 15.5 16 - 16.5 17 - 17.5 18 - 18.5
SLEEVE 32.5 33.5 34.5 35.5 36.5
FINDING YOUR SIZE

Take your measurements with the tape measure over your under garments. If your measurements fall between sizes you may prefer the next larger size. Inseam, skirt and dress lengths vary by style and will be listed in the item description. Our sweaters are knit in standard American sizes, however actual measurements vary by style.

BUST / CHEST

Measure around the fullest part of chest under the arms and over the shoulder blades keeping the tape measure level.

WAIST

Measure around the smallest part of the waist keeping the tape measure comfortably loose. Most garments use the low waist measurement noted below.

LOW WAIST

Measure around the body approximately 1.5" below the natural waist (above). This is the area where most pants and skirts actually fit.

HIPS

Standing with your heels together, measure around the fullest part of the body approx 7"-8" below the waist.

NECK

Measure around the base of the neck keeping the tape measure comfortably loose.

SLEEVE

Bend elbow slightly and starting at the center back of the neck, measure across the shoulder, to the elbow and down to the wrist.

INSEAM

Our standard inseam length for women is 32" and 34" for men; however inseam measurements will vary slightly by style.

 

Belts with buckles are measured in inches that correspond to a waist size however, most people do not wear belts on the waist, they wear them closer to the hips. A buckle belt measurement is take from the end of the "pin" of the buckle to the middle hole on the belt. Generally there are 5 holes for size adjustment, with a 1" space between each, so the middle hole will the be average size of the belt.

For at tie belt (no buckle) measure the belt portion end to end and half of the tie portion. This again is the medium size of the belt.

For a soft fabric tie belt it can be called "1 size fits most" and the entire length of the belt should be measured and listed.

See buckle/tie belt size standards below.

WOMEN S M L XL  
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
inches 26 - 30 28 - 32 31 - 35 34 - 38 38 - 42
cm 76 - 86 81.5 - 91.5 86.5 - 96.5 91.5 - 101.5 96.5 - 106.5

+/- tolerance: 0.5 inches or 1.25 cm

MEN S M L XL XXL
inches 30 - 34 32 - 36 35 - 39 39 - 43 43 - 47
cm 81.5 - 91.5 86.5 - 96.5 91.5 - 101.5 96.5 - 106.5 109 - 119

+/- tolerance: 0.5 inches or 1.25 cm

Sash tie length

Lay sash/tie out flat away from the garment and measure from end to end.

Belt with buckle

Measure from the end of the pin of the buckle (where it touches the buckle) to the middle hole.

Belt without buckle

Measure from the belt portion end to end and half of the tie portion. This is will give you the medium size of the belt.

Download our printable ring sizing chart to find the perfect fit!

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