Old Tuareg Leather Bag and Smoking Pipe – Niger

Finely crafted leather. Height: 14.0 cm (5.51 in). The pipe, made of brass, iron, ebony, and camel bone, measures 10.2 cm (4.02 in).

The Tuareg people inhabit a vast area covering almost the entire central 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. The Tuareg are traditionally nomadic. For over two millennia, they operated the trans‑Saharan caravan trade, connecting the major cities on the southern edge of the Sahara to the northern Mediterranean coast through five principal desert trade routes.

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