I got this at an estate sale and didn't listen carefully to the woman who sold it to me. My best guess is that she said it came from either the Indonesian area or from a country in east Africa. There is also a long strip of the same woven material that has the shells on it as well. It's all natural materials; maybe dyed palm with little shells. I thought it was a very interesting piece, and I wish I'd listened more carefully! Any thoughts? TIA Lynnie