The RFB Collection brings together handwoven art from Indigenous and traditional artisans across Latin America and Africa. Each piece carries generations of skill, cultural memory, and artistic vision.
What began with connections to the Wounaan and Embera of Panama has grown into a collection that honors global weaving traditions. Today the collection includes work from Colombia, Rwanda, and Ghana.
In the Darién rainforest of Panama, Wounaan weavers create baskets known for their astonishing fineness and detail. Using palm fibers stripped and prepared into threads as thin as a human hair, artisans build works that can take months or even years to complete. Designs often reflect the rainforest itself—geometry, birds, fish, and flowers brought to life in coil and stitch.
What are they made from?
Fibers of the Werregue (Chunga) palm, prepared into extremely fine strands and dyed with pigments from local seeds, roots, and leaves.
How are they made?
Each basket is sewn coil by coil using a needle, with stitches so tight that they are nearly invisible.
What makes them unique?
They represent the pinnacle of fine basketry, combining impossible precision with cultural storytelling passed through generations.
Colombian Wounaan baskets share the heritage of their Panamanian counterparts but are distinct in material and style. Woven from shredded palm fronds dyed with natural pigments, they often feature bold geometric patterns. Some artists push the form further by incorporating copper wire, giving their work a luminous modern edge.
What are they made from?
Palm fronds shredded into fine fibers, dyed with natural pigments from the rainforest. Copper wire is sometimes added.
How are they made?
Fibers are stitched coil by coil with needles, often in larger or more geometric forms than the Panama baskets.
What makes them unique?
They blend ancestral weaving with innovation, creating pieces that shimmer with both history and light.
The Embera people of Panama weave animal masks that once circled ritual spaces and carried protective power. Today these masks are still made with the same intensity of spirit, depicting jaguars, owls, hummingbirds, and other rainforest creatures. They are both cultural symbols and bold works of contemporary art.
Where do they come from?
The Darién rainforest of Panama, home to the Embera people.
How are they made?
Fibers of the Chunga palm are split, dyed with natural pigments, and woven into three-dimensional animal forms.
Why are they significant?
They carry ceremonial heritage while also expressing the individuality of each weaver, making every mask one of a kind.
Ticuna dolls reflect the traditions of the Colombian Amazon in miniature form. Made with natural fibers and textiles, they capture daily life, identity, and storytelling. Each doll preserves memory while sharing Indigenous artistry with the wider world.
Who makes them?
The Ticuna, one of the largest Indigenous groups in the Amazon region of Colombia.
What materials are used?
Natural fibers, textiles, and dyes sourced from the rainforest.
What do they represent?
They embody community stories and cultural continuity, serving as artifacts of memory and heritage.
In Rwanda, baskets reach upward like sculpture. Tall and graceful, they are woven from grasses and sisal into geometric patterns that reflect centuries of tradition. Once used for storage and gift-giving, they are now celebrated worldwide for their presence and design.
What makes them so striking?
Their towering forms and bold geometry create a visual statement that anchors any space.
How are they woven?
Coiled by hand from local grasses and sisal, often dyed with natural pigments.
What role do they play?
They symbolize peace and resilience, serving as icons of Rwandan culture and artistry.
From northern Ghana’s savannahs come baskets woven with elephant grass. Strong yet flexible, the material is worked into sweeping, organic forms that bend and wave like sculpture. They are utilitarian by nature but elevated into works of art through design and craftsmanship.
What is elephant grass?
A durable, pliable grass that thrives in Ghana’s northern savannahs.
How do artisans use it?
The grass is split, softened, dyed, and woven into flowing forms.
Why are they valued?
They are both practical and sculptural, embodying the dual strength and beauty of West African craft.
At RFB, we believe these works stand among the world’s great art forms. Each piece is handmade, one of a kind, and deeply rooted in its community of origin. By working directly with artisans, we support traditions at risk of being overlooked while bringing you authentic works of woven art. Each basket, mask, or doll carries both beauty and story, from the rainforest to the savannah.
