British Museum Pattern Books reproduce in fine drawings the rich variety of patterns and designs which decorate art and artefacts in the British Museum and etsewhere. Designers, craftsmen, artists and needleworkers, teachers and students wit[ find them endtessty useful.

The great diversity of artistic styles from all parts of the continent are dramatically illustrated in one hundred pages of illustrations, taken from pottery, metalwork, leather, basketwork and textiles. The introduction gives a brief history of African art from the eartiest rock paintings to the most recent twentieth-century designs. Rebecca Jewell formerty worked at the Museum of Mankind, London, and at the Commonwealth Institute, London. She is now a freelance illustrator.

This book is one in a series of pattern books published by British Museum Press. It is produced at a time when there is a growing interest in the study of African art. There are more exhibitions being put on in museums and art galleries than ever before - of African textiles, of the work of contemporary African sculptors and artists and of African traditional crafts collected over the last few hundred years. Many contemporary textiles produced by fashion designers in the West take designs and motifs from traditional African cloths. The colourful telephone wire basket and beadwork jewellery from South Africa are sold in craft shops throughout Europe and America, and long strings of African bead necklaces are popular.

Introduction 

Notes on the Designs

Further Reading

THE DESIGNS