What is African Furniture?

Very African Chair in solid laminated Wenge by Contemporary African Home

Over the last two years, I've been challenged with questions regarding the definition of "African furniture" and the place of African goods in the global marketplace.

In one very telling exchange, the owner of a well-established African Art Gallery insisted that products from the Contemporary African Home line would have a better chance of success if we didn't tell anyone that the furniture is African because, "it just doesn't Look African."

Yes, yes, I was as perplexed and offended. However I didn't want to unleash my New York/New Jersey attitude out all over this woman (who, btw, is a black Kenyan). So in response, I asked, "What do African Products look like?" Her reply told me what, in her mind, African products DON'T look like: "Your furniture is modern, the lines are clean, it is well made," etc., "no one is
going to believe that this was made in Africa." She went on... "just call it Contemporary Furniture."

Contemporary African Home's very modern Showcase Sofa with Mosaic Ribbon Arms

As absurd as it sounds, I'm thankful for that conversation because it reminds me a) of the need to speak on the long-standing history of fine craftsmanship found in so many regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and b) of the need to break away from the narrow definitions of "African goods." The expected examples being either unprocessed raw materials or ceremonial art and tchotchke which fall into a 3 buckets: 1) the originals with provenance and acquisition issues attached, 2) the well made replica which may or may not be presented as an original, and 3) the made-in-china mass produced item that you can buy in TJMaxx for under $20.

To those of you who'd expect that African products be broadly defined and reflective of the diversity of people, resources, and talent found throughout the continent, I agree with you! However, I've learned that the proliferation of this idea will come after a whole lot of targeted product branding efforts and the increased footprint of the wide array of African products in the global marketplace. Only then will we see a mind shift on "what is African."

I hope this shift comes with a greater demand for quality, value-added goods from Sub-Saharan Africa and that those goods support the continent's talented entrepreneurs.