Seamstresses working on manual sewing machines are a common sight in West Africa. Everywhere small fashion shops produce dresses and designs of the latest Western fashion can be selected from catalogues. In view of the regular power cuts most seamstresses work on old Singer machines which are manually operated. The carving of these three young ladies are so-called ‘colons’ which show scenes from everyday life and were made for the tourist market. Each colon is carved from a solid block of wood and only the crank of the sewing machine is a separate piece. These colons were acquired in Ghana in 1997 and date from about 1990. Average height 33 cm. Width ca 17 cm. Depth ca 19 cm.