My passion for handmade textiles began earlier in life during my travels to Southeast Asia, where I was first exposed to an array of batik styles and woven fabrics. I grew particularly interested in handmade Vietnamese, Japanese, and Indonesian batiks. When I later became an importer of Indonesian batiks and sarongs (many may recall they were worn as casual wear and beach wear by woman and girls all over Europe and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s), I enjoyed the creativity of the patterns, the ingenious mixing of rudimentary dyes to make brilliant colors, and the incredible ease of maintenance and washing of a textile that had its roots in humble villages that had not known washing machines.

That early interest expanded to textiles from other parts of Asia, particularly traditional Japanese and Korean silks, indigos, and dyed cottons, and then, South American, Central American and indigenous Mexican weavings and ingeniously crafted textiles.

Then, I began traveling in North and West Africa, and discovered Morroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian textiles, and later to West and Central Africa, where I began to actively collect African art, and a passion for handmade African textiles accompanied this passion for African art. Proudly, as one of the few Americans who travels to Africa to field collect art and artifacts, I have been exposed to a broad range of indigenous African textiles, and have had the joy of being present in cooperatives where traditional methods have been taught, and I have even been taught some of the meanings behind the complex field of symbols represented on some of the textiles as well. With this broadened understanding has come more enthusiasm and appreciation. The stories and history that accompany the textiles I have grown to treasure create a richness to enjoying textiles that is difficult to express.

Here’s a story or two:
*I have been taught that a triple “v” linear design on Bogolan textiles was used to warn parents in specific regions and Malian villages of the “camel hoof”; human traffickers would arrive on camels and steal children into slavery. Upon seeing textiles with these markings in specific villages, parents would be on guard, and subsequently build their homes with doors too low for camels to enter, enabling protection of their children.

*A repetitive, jagged, squiggly line represents the man who doesn’t pay his debts, while the straight line represents the honest, upright man who is faithful and pays debts.

*A design with a closed circle (tribe/community/family) has the center dot (father, chief) if the father or chief is responsible and benevolent; if the dot is outside the circle, it represents a husband or chief who has been cast out of the community or home for wrong behavior.

Each of the textiles being sold on Textiles of Africa.com represents a cultural narrative, a history, and a vision. They represent brilliant design and craft and an enormous amount of hard work, by outstanding artisans, past and present.

It is my desire to have Textiles of Africa.com become the most shopping-friendly, comprehensive and informative African textile gallery online. The site combines our priority—providing superior quality and rare handmade African textiles for sale with an artistic approach to scholarship, photography, and presentation. We have a real gallery where you are welcome to come at any time to see these textiles and meet us, or enjoy and shop our world class African art collection. Please enjoy your shopping experience on our site, feedback is welcome, and please tell a friend. Your purchases fund the expansion of the site, additional purchasing directly from African craftspeople, and the worldwide exposure of these divine textiles.

Sincerely,

Andrew Berz,
Owner, Textiles of Africa.com