This striking collection of Yoruba thorn wood carvings dates to the 1970s and captures moments of daily life — work, travel, music, and domestic routine — rendered in expressive, hand-carved form. Offered in curated groups, these figures reward close looking and thoughtful display.
Discover the collection and the stories within it
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
This carved thorn wood group shows a seated woman accompanied by a standing figure holding a parasol, a motif commonly associated with travel, trade, or social standing in Yoruba carving traditions. The parasol suggests protection from the sun and may indicate importance, respect, or seniority, while the seated figure’s calm posture conveys authority and presence. Whether interpreted as a woman of importance with an attendant, or a household scene, the figures evoke everyday movement and social relationships within mid-20th century Nigerian life.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
This group reflects movement through landscape and community — figures carrying goods, travelling, or engaged in exchange. The carvings emphasise balance and forward motion, echoing the physical demands of travel and trade in everyday life.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
Focusing on quieter, inward-facing moments, this husband and wife group depicts domestic tasks and daily routines. The carvings are understated and intimate, offering a counterpoint to the more dynamic figures of labour and travel.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
This group reflects movement through landscape and community — figures carrying goods, travelling, or engaged in exchange. The carvings emphasise balance and forward motion, echoing the physical demands of travel and trade in everyday life.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
This group focuses on scenes of labour and craft, depicting the everyday tasks that underpin domestic and community life. Carved with an emphasis on gesture and posture, these figures convey effort, rhythm, and repetition rather than fine detail. Together they form a quiet record of work as a shared, lived experience.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
This group reflects movement through landscape and community — figures carrying goods, travelling, or engaged in exchange. The carvings emphasise balance and forward motion, echoing the physical demands of travel and trade in everyday life.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
These figures celebrate music as a central element of Yoruba cultural life. Simplified forms and exaggerated stances suggest movement and sound, allowing the viewer to imagine rhythm and performance beyond the static object. Displayed together, they create a strong sense of energy and communal gathering.
These carved thorn wood figures originates from the Yoruba cultural region of Nigeria and date from the mid-to-late 20th century. The figure depicts a moment of everyday life, rendered with a simplified but expressive form that emphasises posture and movement.
The surface shows natural wear consistent with age and material, with a warm, matte patina developed through handling. Minor restoration has been undertaken where required to stabilise the carving, without obscuring signs of age.
Each figure is hand-carved and unique, making small variations and imperfections an essential part of its character.
These figures celebrate music as a central element of Yoruba cultural life. Simplified forms and exaggerated stances suggest movement and sound, allowing the viewer to imagine rhythm and performance beyond the static object. Displayed together, they create a strong sense of energy and communal gathering.
This characterful walking stick handle is cast in bronze and modelled in the form of a bulls head. The sculpture is sensitively rendered, with a calm, almost inquisitive expression and confident detailing across the muzzle, eyes, and horns.
The bronze has developed a deep, even patina, with gentle highlights on raised areas that emphasise the modelling and suggest age and handling. Originally intended as a functional cane or walking stick handle, the piece has been sympathetically mounted on a solid wooden base and now presents as a small sculptural object.
Both decorative and tactile, it sits comfortably between folk tradition and practical craftsmanship.
A delightful, framed, antique hand-coloured print of a Mottled Owl by Fawcett as featured in F.O. Morris’s ‘A History of British Birds’. Who-Who-Who enquires Owl. Good question, Fawcett was a renowned 19th Century engraver who collaborated with Morris on the acclaimed 6-volume series bringing coloured birds in their environment to a wider audience for the first time.
Owl should ask another question though. Why, why, why am I in a natural history book on British Birds? This Central and South American owl was a true rarity in the UK with only one record of a pair in 1852 shot on a Yorkshire Estate putting an end to any increase in numbers. Unfortunate for the birds but timely for its inclusion for posterity in Morris’s seminal works. You won’t find it in today’s British bird guides.
Product Details
Materials: Hand-coloured engraving on paper
Approximate Size: Framed 38.5 cm x 32 cm x 2 cm
A framed, hand-coloured engraved map of the ancient Canaan or Judea region by John Charles Russell, eminent 19th Century engraver, printed in 1825. The region served as a critical geopolitical crossroads connecting ancient Egypt, Mesopotania and Asia Minor making it a highly contested territory throughout antiquity. Today, it is known as Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and parts of Jordan and Syria.
Product Details
Material: Hand-coloured engraving on paper
Approximate Size: Framed 38.5 cm x 33 cm x 1.5 cm
A small watercolour sketch from Provence, signed by Major Harry St John Holcroft (1951-2013) dated 1994. It is sold here unframed. It was amongst a number of frames bought at our local auction house for use in our Framed Textile collection.
Harry’s life story captured our attention. He is described as a soldier, adventurer, writer and painter who travelled with little more than a briefcase across deserts, mountains, oceans and jungles to share their stories. After 23 years in the Household Cavalry he became a full-time painter. He followed in the footsteps of history to understand and illustrate the world’s trade routes, and concerned by the devastation of the rainforests he extensively explored and illustrated them resulting in co-authoring ‘Rainforest-Light and Spirit’. The then Prince of Wales (now King of the UK) referred to the book in his foreword as ‘a call to arms’ for the rainforests. He has exhibited widely in London, New York, Los Angeles, France and divided his time between India, London and Provence France, where this sketch is focused. Ever the adventurer, his full life was cut short at 62 years old following a fall in an Indian Fort where he was staying as Artist in Residence whilst planning his next adventure to the South Seas and Pacific.
Product Details
Material: Watercolour on paper
Approximate Size: 31 cm x 23.5 cm with mount (21 cm x 13 cm unmounted)
This finely modelled dog’s head is a cast bronze walking stick handle or finial, mounted on a solid Walnut wooden display base. The sculpture is sensitively rendered, with confident modelling that captures the character and expression of the animal without excessive detail.
The dark bronze surface shows a natural patina, with subtle highlights on raised areas that emphasise the form. The modelling suggests it was produced from a well-executed original, intended as a functional object as much as a decorative one.
While originally made to be fitted to a walking stick or cane, it now functions as a small sculptural object in its own right, bridging practical craftsmanship and decorative art.
This 68 cm tall hand-carved wooden figure, depicting a man’s and horse’s head originates from Indonesia and is believed to relate to agricultural blessing or fertility practices, used symbolically to invoke protection and abundance before planting.
The figure is carved in a deliberately elongated form, with a simplified but expressive face and minimal detailing. Attached to the body is a cylindrical fibre or cloth-wrapped bundle, suggesting the object once held ritual or symbolic material rather than serving a purely decorative function.
The overall form, combined with the method of suspension and evidence of handling, indicates this was a functional ritual object, likely employed in the preparation of seeds, fields, or agricultural space prior to planting.
This hand-carved wooden sculpture originates from Thailand and depicts a seated human figure riding a crocodile, a powerful and recurring motif in Southeast Asian folklore. Boldly simplified in form, the piece emphasises gesture and narrative over fine detail, giving it a strong sculptural presence.
Carved from so that the man and crocodile are separate pieces, the work shows clear tool marks and an aged surface patina, suggesting it was made as a folk or vernacular object rather than decorative export ware. The elongated body of the crocodile and stylised human form reflect a storytelling tradition rooted in oral myth and symbolism.
At 62 cm in length and 15 cm in height, the sculpture reads as both an ethnographic object and a compelling piece of outsider or folk art.
This evocative hand-carved wooden figure (12 x 12 cm) originates from Indonesia and reflects the long tradition of vernacular folk art found across the archipelago. Simply carved and dressed in a hand-stitched textile tunic, the figure has an expressive, pared-back form that emphasises character and presence over fine detail.
Figures of this kind were commonly made for household, ritual, or protective purposes, often suspended or displayed within the home. The outstretched arms and suspension cord suggest it may once have been hung on a wall or beam, where such objects were believed to offer protection, guidance, or a symbolic human presence within the domestic space.
The surface shows clear signs of age and handling, with a rich, worn patina to the wood and naturally aged fabric, giving the piece a strong sense of authenticity and quiet power.
Although a modern piece, this Mexican mermaid figurine is a charming example of folk art, handcrafted from coconut shell and clay. Rich in texture and character, it combines natural materials with an imaginative, human touch, resulting in a piece that feels both playful and deeply rooted in craft tradition.
The mermaid’s form carries an appealing naivety, with subtle surface variations and hand-shaped details that make each piece inherently individual. Earthy tones and organic materials give it warmth and presence, allowing it to sit comfortably within both contemporary and collected interiors.
Material: The body is made from a carved and painted coconut shell, with other parts often molded from clay.
Style: It features a colorful, whimsical design, characteristic of traditional Mexican artesanía (crafts). The style can be associated with "sirens" (La Sirena) in Mexican folklore.
Use: These are primarily decorative items, often used as wall hangings or Christmas ornaments.
Size: 14 cm length, 7 cm width, 17 cm height.
This Vintage Peruvian Chancay doll is a striking example of ancient textile expression, handmade from woven fibres and stitched with simple yet evocative detail. Its elongated form, wrapped body, and expressive face reflect the distinctive aesthetic of the Chancay culture, where textiles held deep social and symbolic importance.
Earth-toned cloth, visible stitching, and areas of natural wear give the figure a quiet presence, shaped by age and time rather than refinement. Both sculptural and intimate, it reads as an object of story and human connection, carrying a sense of the hands and traditions that formed it.
The figure is 15cm in height.
This vintage hand-crafted spice box from Rajasthan is made entirely from wood, built for durability and daily use rather than ornament. Its simple rectangular form opens to reveal a divided interior, once used to store and organise valuable spices—an essential commodity for the nomadic communities who made and lived with such objects.
The box has been sympathetically restored, carefully cleaned and stabilised to preserve its surface, patina, and signs of age while making it practical for use today. Softened edges, darkened grain, and visible wear remain, offering an honest record of long use and careful handling.
Approximate size: 29cm length, 18 cm width and 9.5 cm height
This sweet, unassuming little gem is a simple watercolour of Ipswich Docks signed by Chester Williams (1921-94). It is sold here unframed. A real treasure nestled in a box of frames bought at our local auction house for use in our Framed Textile collection.
Chester led an interesting life, born and schooled in Hollywood, USA, moving to England in the Second World War to work on camouflage effects, eventually following a notable global career in art. He and his wife, Lucy Halford - an industrial and interior Designer, established Ellingham Mill Art Centre and Society in Norfolk 1974 to 1985 – just down the road from The Brown Lion Bazaar. During the 70’s he spent time in Oman as a court painter to the Sultan, many of which now hang in Saudi Arabian Palaces.
What a rich story packed in a little picture.
Product Details
Material: Water colour on Paper
Approximate Size: 19 cm x 14.5 cm unmounted
This Cambodian betel storage box is crafted from thin wood, most likely jack fruit and bamboo and finished with layers of lacquer, its surface bearing the soft wear of decades of use. Subtly compartmentalised, it was originally designed to hold the ingredients for betel chewing—an everyday ritual woven into social life across Southeast Asia. The restrained decoration, muted reds, and darkened lacquer speak to both function and quiet elegance, making this a distinctive object that carries presence without excess.
Today, its divided lid lends itself beautifully to new roles: as a jewellery box, keepsake container, or a place to hold small personal objects. Whether used or simply displayed, it offers a tactile connection to traditional craft while fitting naturally into contemporary interiors.
Size: 23 cm diameter and 12 cm height.
This Balinese hand carved bird carries the quiet presence of age and touch. Shaped with simple, confident lines and softened by time, its worn surface reveals layers of patina, tool marks, and natural imperfections that speak to a life beyond ornament. Perched on a rustic stand, it balances form and character, celebrating the beauty of weathered wood and traditional carving. A distinctive piece that brings warmth, history, and a sense of watchful calm to a shelf, desk, or mantel.
The bird is 20 cm in height, with its base.
A beautiful handmade clay figure of La Catrina, the iconic elegant skeleton figure of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico, a cultural fusion of indigenous traditions and Catholic holidays, celebrating life and death through vibrant art, costumes, and honouring ancestors, not mourning them as something scary.
This particular La Catrina was bought in San Diego and was made in Capula, Mexico.
The height of La Catrina is 21 cm.
A small (14 cm height) figurine of a Chinese fisherman holding a small fish. Head, hands and feet are made from clay and the body is clothed in delicate fabrics and grass clothing. Thought to be made in the 1890s, he has a charming face, even if his clothes are showing their age and are a little threadbare in places.
A lovely addition to any collection featuring little people from around the world.
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