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eShopAfrica.com > Collect > Ga Coffins
 eShopAfrica.com > Collect > Ga Coffins
Welcome to Ga coffins or decorated chests from Ghana
These hand sculpted wooden coffins or decorated chests have been featured by National Geographic. They are made by the famous Ga coffin carpenters in Accra, Ghana.

Traditionally these chests are the size of a full coffin or a half-length coffin (see the bottom of the page for detailed specifications). However, we are working with the coffin carpenters to scale down their work making it easier to ship. They are also developing new lines such as the football and computer mouse - see pictures below.

The coffin carpenters can make just about anything you want. Below is just a sample of their creativity. They can work from a photo or a model. Order a chest according to your hobby or interest - these are truly antiques of the future. See how these amazing pieces are made in the Coffin Gallery.  

 
Place your order here
Place your order here

Smaller chests take about one month to make and full and half sized ones can take up to three months. The inside of the chest is painted in a matching colour. The storage size inside the chest varies according to the style chosen. These are primarily decorative items - not storage containers. Look at the photographs below and decide the theme you would like. If you would like your own design please email us.  


1 full sized (6ft) chest - $1,500  
1 half-sized (3ft) chest - $600  
1 "table-top" chest - $350  
1 "desk top" chest - $175  

 
COF017 Ferrari
COF017 Ferrari
Have you dreamed of owning a Ferrari? Dream no longer... buy your own hand made African Ferrari today! Just look at the detail... And it opens into a chest to keep things in! A truly unique work of art!  

 
COF019 Subaru
COF019 Subaru
A different way to speed into the after life. This "half sized" piece was ordered by BBC Top Gear Magazine. 

 
eShopAfrica and the coffins...
In traditional Ga culture you are buried in a coffin that reflects how you earned your living and lived your life. Samuel, the creator of these clever and witty pieces first worked as an apprentice coffin maker and then, in order to pay off his tuition fees, worked many years on a low salary. eShopAfrica gave him some sample orders which he made in his spare time. He consistently delivered high quality work and now has his own business based on orders from eShopAfrica.  


 
COF018 Nokia
COF018 Nokia
Keep your line to heaven open - go to the afterlife in a Nokia. The face of the phone opensopens to make the lid. Whatever brand you want our carpenters can make it for you - even blue tooth! 

 
COF001 Computer Mouse Chest
COF001 Computer Mouse Chest
Perhaps the first IT coffin - our carpenters think so. We gave them our mouse and this is what we got back! A great witty storage chest for the office. The attention to detail is incredible - on the underside are the roller ball and serial number. And it opens to be a storage chest as well - a truly unique work of art! We can personalise one for you - whatever brand you want our carpenters can make it.

Specifications for this piece
Length without wire: 18 in/45 cm
(wire can be detached for shipping)
Length with wire: 32 in/80 cm
Width: 10 in/25 cm
Weight: 3 kg
All measurements approximate

Samuel can make any brand, any model or any other piece of IT equipment - send us your idea!  


 
COF002 Football Tabletop Chest
COF002 Football Tabletop Chest
This football is so realistic we have to keep it out of the way of children who want to take it for a game! It's slightly larger than life but perfectly reproduced. Part of the top comes off to make the lid. This ball is Bundes-Liga but Samuel can make any brand, any league or any team (he supports Arsenal!)

Specifications
Height: 11 in/28 cm
Width:: 11 in/28 cm
Weight: 3.5 kg
All measurements approximate

Samuel can make any other sports equipment and balls too... just tell us your game!  


 
COF003 Red Pepper Desktop Chest
COF003 Red Pepper Desktop Chest
This is the first in Samuel's food themed tabletop chests. This red hot pepper has a lid and is a fun place to store small items. He can make any pepper, fruit, vegetable or food item - just let us know!

Specifications
Height: 11 in/28 cm
Width:: 15 in/40 cm
Weight: 3 kg
All measurements approximate

For more food see the carrot and pineapple below. 


 
COF004 Beer Bottle Drinks Cabinet
COF004 Beer Bottle Drinks Cabinet
Star Beer is one of the most popular beers in Ghana and here Samuel has perfectly reproduced a Star Beer bottle and made it into a drinks cabinet. This picture is of the half-sized version but he can make a full standing version too. The label area opens and inside are storage shelves.

He can make any brand, any bottle, any container... just send us the photo

Specifications
Beer bottle half sized drinks cabinet:
Height: 40 in/100 cm
Width at base: 12 in/32 cm
Weight: 12 kg
All measurements approximate

These products make great promotional items - they are witty and colourful and a great talking point. We send you photos of your chest under construction so you can see how it's made  


 
COF005 Carrot Half Sized Chest
COF005 Carrot Half Sized Chest
This carrot was made as a special order for a client to be used as a promotional item in a trade fair. Look at the details on the leaves to see how perfectly a carrot is reproduced. We can make any other vegetable or food item in this or in any of the sizes - see specifications at the bottom of this page.

Have a look at the pineapple below too. 


 
COF030 Kente seller's coffin
COF030 Kente seller's coffin
This amazing coffin looks exactly like a pile of kente cloth from a distance. You have to touch it to realise it's just an illusion. You can buy real kente cloth in the Kente section of our shop - look at it to see how well it's reproduced by the carpenters.

 


 
COF006 Lion
COF006 Lion
Roaring into the afterlife 

 
COF007 Pineapple
COF007 Pineapple
Not an easy subject for a chest but completely life-like 

 
COF031 Okra
COF031 Okra
Or a vegetable... like this okra (ladies finger). 

 
COF022 Saw
COF022 Saw
Are you a carpenter? Take your saw into the afterlife 

 
COF023 Carpenter's Vice
COF023 Carpenter's Vice
Or perhaps the tool your prefer is a vice. 

 
COF008 Aeroplane
COF008 Aeroplane
Take off in one of these - you can order the airline of your choice 

 
COF024 Trainer
COF024 Trainer
Are you a runner? Choose your favourite brand of running shoe. 

 
COF025 Leather Shoe
COF025 Leather Shoe
Perhaps you're a more formal kind of person and would prefer a leather shoe. 

 
COF009 Gun
COF009 Gun
Are you in the army? This one is for you - even the realistic looking wheels are carved out of wood. 

 
Fact
In death as in life - the most prestigious coffin to be buried in is that of a Mercedes Benz. It is reserved for only the most respected and the coffin Mercedes is given the same license plate as that of the owner's real one. 


 
COF010 Mercedes
COF010 Mercedes
If you have a real one, you may as well have a replica! 

 
COF028 Truck
COF028 Truck
Maybe you would prefer a truck... this one will have the license plate from the deceased's real truck put on when it is used for the last journey.  

 
COF011 Pink fish
COF011 Pink fish
Accra, where the Ga community in Ghana is based, is on the coast of West Africa and many people earn their living fishing. 

 
COF026 Striped fish
COF026 Striped fish
Or how about this cheeky striped fish? 

 
COF012 Barracuda
COF012 Barracuda
Such life like eyes - the painting plays a big part in the illusion. 

 
COF013 Lobster
COF013 Lobster
An elaborate work of art proving that nothing is too much of a challenge for these talented carpenters 

 
COF027 Crab
COF027 Crab
Continuing the shell fish theme... a complicated crab! 

 
COF014 Beer
COF014 Beer
Beer sellers go to the afterlife in their favourite brand 

 
COF021 Coca Cola
COF021 Coca Cola
So do soft drink sellers. Look at the painted detail on this bottle of Coca Cola - you can see the bubbles! 

 
Fact
Ga coffins show similarities to the coffins of the ancient Eleku tribe in D R Congo which had decorated canoe shaped coffins with beaks. However, the Eleku art of coffin making fell into disuse long ago before the Ga tradition started. 


 
COF015 Cow
COF015 Cow
You can't eat fish all the time so here's a cow - Gateway should have one of these. The carpenters can do other animals too...  

 
COF016 Chicken
COF016 Chicken
And you can't have a cow without a chicken so here's a fine rooster 

 
COF030 Turkey
COF030 Turkey
Or do you prefer a turkey?

 


 
COF030 Elephant
COF030 Elephant
Elephants are rare these days in Ghana but the carpenters can still make them. 

 
COF029 Eagle
COF029 Eagle
Eagle's are traditionally used for pastor's to soar into the heavens.  

 
COF020 Kente stool
COF020 Kente stool
This coffin is a combination of themes - a traditional stool shape with piles of kente cloth underneath. 

Mini thematic boxes
 
If you're looking for something smaller, visit our Mini thematic boxes section to see smaller versions or visit our Coffin Gallery to see how these artworks are made.
Mini thematic boxes
We recommend this book about the history of Ga coffins
 
If you would like to know more we recommend Going into Darkness: Fantastic Coffins from Africa by Thierry Secretan available from Amazon.com.

For more book recommendations visit our Library

We recommend this book about the history of Ga coffins
 
Full sized and half sized chest specifications
The inside of the chest is painted in a matching colour. The storage size inside the chest varies according to the style chosen. These are primarily decorative items not storage containers. If you would like to your own design please email us.

Decorated chests and coffins specifications
These items are hand made to order and can take up to 3 months to make
Country of originGhana
MaterialHard wood, dried and treated
ProcessCarved and painted
All dimensions are approximate.
Full sized chest dimensions
Length7 ft     2.13 m
Width3 ft     0.91 m
HeightVariable according to model chosen
Weight50 - 80 kg
 
Half sized chest dimensions
Length4 ft     1.22 m
Width3 ft     0.91 m
HeightVariable according to model chosen
Weight30 - 50 kg
 
"Table top" chest dimensions
Length2 ft     60 cm
Width1.5 ft     46 cm
HeightVariable according to model chosen
Weight3 - 10 kg
 
"Desk top" chest dimensions
Length1 ft     30 cm
Width6 ins      15 cm
HeightVariable according to model chosen
Weight2 - 5 kg
 
Shipping We ship smaller pieces by DHL. Larger pieces go by air freight. We will contact you with a shipping quote after you place your order.

Some of the photographs on this page were taken with the permission of carpenters other than ours. Our carpenters are able to produce the same items exactly.

 

Sep 08 Because of rising world prices that have impacted our artisans we have increased our retail prices by 20%. We have also removed the wholesale prices from the website. We are able to give better deals if we calculate orders individually. If you would like to place a wholesale or bulk order please email us.
 
eShopAfrica.com is a pioneer of African based ecommerce. Our company is registered in Accra, Ghana and we've been trading online since 2001. We have customers all over the world ranging from individuals to businesses, collectors to museums. We also run an ecommerce consultancy service to help others trade online.
 
Our aim is to create sustainable businesses for traditional African artisans many of whom live in poverty. Arts and crafts are a valuable source of income for many Africans. Rural populations live off their creativity between harvests and urban dwellers - often women - rely on their creative skills to feed and educate their children. However they have neither the time nor resources to market their goods and quite frequently receive cost or less than cost for their work.
 
We also wish to showcase the positive, creative site of Africa. Few people have access to the scope and beauty of African artefacts and we'd like to bring them closer.
 
We want to put money and prestige back into the African artisan sector so that the world doesn't lose these valuable skills.
 
Meet some of our artisans on the About page or find out what the Media say. Check the Blog Link for our latest news.
 
Want to know more? Contact us!
Can't see it...
 
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  HOW YOU CAN PAY
Mastercard
Mastercard
Visa
Visa
Paypal
Paypal
Western Union
Western Union
Bank transfers: place your order and we'll send our details

  WHOLESALE ORDERS

On the site we have retail prices. If you would like a wholesale or bulk quote, please contact us.


OUR FAVOURITE BOOKS
See more in our Library
Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano
 
Going into Darkness: Fantastic Coffins from Africa by Thierry Secretan
 
West Africa before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850 by Basil Davidson
 
African Civilization Revisited: From Antiquity to Modern Times by Basil Davidson
 
A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
 

 

 

 
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