Diverse groups across the vast African continent assign seats according to social hierarchies. Important individuals sit on carved stools or chairs while those of lesser status stand or sit on the ground. Caryatid stools such as this, with a female figure supporting the seat, literally elevated leaders. As significant objects of royal regalia, stools served as repositories for the political and spiritual power of a ruler both during his reign and after his death.
Description:
Round wood stool supported by a kneeling female figure with upraised arms, raised scarification on the torso, a hairstyle with a cross form projecting from the back of the head and an incised band representing stylized cowrie shells around the edge of the seat and base.
Provenance:
Michel Wolf, Brussels
Philippe Guimiot, Brussels, -- to 1978
Dr. Robert and Helen Kuhn, Los Angeles, 1989 to 2000
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (deinstalled July 8, 2019)
African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013
Treasures, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 17, 2004-August 15, 2005
Recent Acquisitions 2001, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 6-October 7, 2001
Gifts to the National Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1997-January 4, 1998
Published References:
Patton, Sharon F. 2004. Treasures: Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Folio.
Sotheby's. 1991. The Kuhn Collection of African Art. Auction catalogue (November 20). New York, no. 88.
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