Wood Carving in Foumban, Cameroon, Africa

Wood carving has a long history in Africa. Drums, doors, masks, games, statues, and furniture are carved in and around Foumban, Cameroon. For more information about these artists, or to purchase any of these items, please contact Abdou Mfopa. For more about carving in Cameroon, please look at my article, Carving Cameroon's Culture, in Woodcarving, June/July 2006, 91: 12-15.

Wooden drum.

The beginnings of a carved door.

Helmet masks are carved.
 

A mask is sanded.

Carvings are often smoked to make them black.

Some masks are painted after the smoking.

Some pieces are burnished with glass to make them shine.

Links:
African Arts/Handicraft and Environmental Management Institute (AFHEMI)
Art-Batik of Adehoumi Sikirou Shola
Bark Pictures of Claude Ngaha
Dschang Handicraft Center
Gîtes Ruraux de l’Ouest
Metal Casting in Foumban
Pottery of Western Cameroon
Cameroonian beadworking  
Tapestry Crochet in Cameroon
Cameroonian Basket Maker, Fokam Goufo Buhler  
Cameroonian Author, Mih John Fung  
Cameroonian Painter, Hilarion Wirdzeka Faison  
Nigerian Painter, Elcarver Rotimi Agbola   
Carved Coffins of Ghana
Haida Wood Carver, Reg Davidson
Haida Painter, James Sawyer
Polish Wood Carver, Jan Piotr Ledwon
Polish Wood Carver, Czeslaw Olma
Mexican Wood Carver, Fernando Giron Pantoja
Mexican Marquetry Box Maker, José Antonio Rodríguez  
Silva Foundation Workshops in Lisbon, Portugal   
 Marquetry of Granada, Spain
Religious Sculpture in Seville, Spain 
Wood Carving in Bali, Indonesia 
Horn Carving in Bali, Indonesia
Carol Ventura's Home Page 

Recommended books:
Hans Knopfli has written the best books I have ever read about the crafts of Cameroon. Please go to his web page at http://www.kamerun.ch/html/en/home.html for more information about them.

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Web page, photographs, and text by Carol Ventura.