These 3 unique necklaces were designed and made by an accomplished artisan in Lome, Togo, Baba Ahmed, a friend of mine for many years. He has incorporated the very thin, long twisted strands of dyed straw that the Somba people of northern Benin and Togo have been making for centuries and combined them with unique brass pendants: an Ashanti stool, a filigree sunburst with a central African mask/face and a disk featuring a crocodile and a snake. The Somba strands were originally made to be worn around peoples' waists as amulets, for protection.

The necklaces' circumference varies from 14 1/2 to 16" (37 to 41 cm). The stool pendant measures 1 3/4 x 1 1/2" (4.4 x 3.8 cm); the sunburst pendant 4 1/4 x 3 1/2" (11 x 9 cm); the disk is 2 5/8" (7 cm) in diameter.