Dakar, Senegal, March 29, 2019
Agally Dicko’s workshop is nestled in the heart of the Soumbédioune artisanal market. Inside this small space, he works every day with sheep leather to cover furniture and everyday objects. Dicko inherited his craft from his father, who, in turn, received it from his own father. It is an ancestral trade passed down through generations.
In his workshop, you can find leather-covered pieces such as dressers, coffee tables, trunks, and chests, all hand-stamped with intricate designs.
Dicko begins by constructing the wooden base of the furniture he plans to cover. Once the piece is built, he buys untreated sheep leather from Mauritanian women, as their leather is of superior quality. He soaks the hide in water to make it more malleable, then cuts it with a knife. After cutting, he dyes the leather in the color chosen by the customer, using a natural powdered dye mixed with water. Carefully, he applies the leather by hand, covering the object or furniture piece. When the work is complete, he uses the stamps passed down from his father. These stamps depict various elements of the desert where his Amazigh ethnic group originated, such as stars, intersecting caravans, desert snakes, the moon, wheat, and more.
Originally from Mali, Dicko moved to Dakar in 2012 when terrorism began to rise in Mali. His entire family relocated to Senegal, with only one aunt remaining in Mali. There is a sadness in Dicko’s eyes when he speaks of his story.
Daphné Aubé
