Authentic Old Tuareg Camel Saddle – Niger

1970-80. Cm. 84,0 high x cm. 69,5 width (33.07″ x 27.36″). An old, original and complete object, with good usage patina and minor age-related damage.

These camel saddles are formed by stitching and glueing brightly colored leather embossed onto a forked wooden base. The leather was then embellished with delicate drawings, as well as decorative pieces of leather and of metal.

The Tuareg people inhabit a large area, covering almost all the middle and western Sahara and the north-central Sahel. They are probably descended from the ancient Libyan people of the kingdom of the Garamantes, described by Herodotus. Tuareg are mostly nomads. For over two millennia, the Tuareg operated the trans-Saharan caravan trade connecting the great cities on the southern edge of the Sahara via five desert trade routes to the northern coast of Africa (Mediterranean).

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