George Bratu designs the pieces that Museum Private sells. He has worked on the east coast of Africa for more than a decade, between the workshop at Mwenge in Dar es Salaam and a second workshop in Zanzibar.
Eleven years at Mwenge
The Mwenge woodcarvers’ market in Dar es Salaam is one of the oldest carving communities in East Africa. George Bratu has worked there for eleven years, and holds a certificate of recognition from the market covering that period. The certificate carries the name of the company he worked under at the time.
Those years produced several collections before the present one. Pieces from them have been sold internationally, including through the gallery platform Artsper, where a hand-carved mongongo armchair carved from a single piece was listed at 34,999 USالعمق and sold.
How the work is made
George Bratu designs each piece and directs its making. The carving is done by named artisans working in his workshops, in teams of three to eight, over periods of two to twelve months for a single piece. Most pieces are monobloc: carved from one block of wood, with no joints, no veneer and nothing applied.
The artisans who have carved for him include Fharasisi Amblosi, Betwam Dihera, Useni Wilisoni, Rafheli Makalunde, Zakalia Mchambuka, Casimilu Danieli, Michael Mtungwa Shija, Omary Hamidu Karina, Isiaka Deje and Jonathan Nkwabi. Two of them have since died. The pieces they carved cannot be made again.
The woods are ebony, mongongo and mahogany. A piece is made from one wood, never two. The carving styles follow the traditions of the region: Makonde, Maasai, Zanzibar, الحيوانات and Shetani.
The present collection
Museum Private is thirty-five pieces, each one unique. They are sold by Venda Art Limited, a British company registered in 2019, and ship from Tanzania.
Why the workshops are where they are
These carving traditions are centuries old. They were passed from master to apprentice by hand, without drawings, for generations. That line ends with these men. No one is learning it, and nothing comes after them.
Two of the artisans named above have already died. The pieces they carved cannot be made again, by anyone, ever. This is why the work is done where it is done: it cannot be reproduced elsewhere, or later, or by someone taught from a book.
Each piece is dated and credited to the carver by name, because that record will outlast the craft itself.
Who you are buying from
George Bratu is a European designer. The selling company, Venda Art Limited, is British, registered since 2019 and listed at Companies House under number 12180198. The workshops are in Tanzania. A buyer contracts with a UK company under UK law and is invoiced by it, while the carving is done in the workshops the designer runs himself.
Every piece is signed, serialised and carries a certificate of authenticity issued by Venda Art Limited.