African Arts Gallery

traditional furniture in African art. Gurunsi stool from Burkina Faso, whose curved, oblong top rests on three massive legs. Its very sober ornamentation consists of a circular motif on one foot. Golden patina, glossy on the seat, with drying. This African seat is the most important element of African furniture, relating to social rank, and, just like the African headrest, does not lend itself in any way case.

African art collection Amadeo Plaza Garcés.
Among the Asante, Ahanti, an ethnic group from Ghana (formerly the "Gold Coast"), the five-pillar seats are called asesedwa (dwa). However, the shape of this version is similar to that of the adinkra gwa chief's stool used by the Omanhene, chief of the Adinkra region.
Every head of the family had a stool, while women used a smaller version. Today, everyone uses them without distinction. Light patina, erosion and chips from use. Lit.: "Black African seats from the Barbier-Mueller Museum" ed. 5Continents

Very low to allow women to be at the height of the fire to prepare meals, this solid stool offers a wide concave seat. It could make use of a presentation dish. Beautiful patina of use, erosions and cracks. < br>Mixed with the Nalu and the Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps flooded six months a year. These Baga groups settled on the coast and living from rice growing are made up of seven sub-groups, including the Baga Kalum, Bulongic, Baga sitem, Baga Mandori, etc.... Along with the extinction of male initiations since the 1950s, women's societies organize danced ritual ceremonies during which possession and divination sessions frequently take place. These groups make use of sculptures, masks and caryatid drums.

This type of Asante, Ashanti style stool was often carved by Agni or Akye people from the South-East of Ivory Coast. In the past, only the Asante king was allowed to create new types of rectangular stools. The animal motifs, carved from royal prototypes, magnified the qualities of the animals represented, sometimes evoking proverbs, thus enhancing their owner.
Light patina, missing (lower corner) and desiccation cracks.
The Ashanti are one of the ethnic groups of Ghana, part of the Akan group, living in a region covered in forests. Like other populations living in the central and southern part of Ghana, they speak a language of the Twi group. This people consider women to be the final arbiter of all decisions. Fertility and children are the most frequent themes represented ...

French collection of African tribal art Among the elements of traditional African furniture , the seats played a role intended to enhance the prestige of those who possess them. Often intended for dignitaries, kings, chiefs and nobles, these luxurious seats are decorated with figurative motifs related to the history and myths of the clan. This stool takes up the general characteristics of the royal Kataklé stools of King Béhanzin (1845-1906), King of Abomey. The ornamentation composed of varied motifs in slight relief forms animal scenes, everyday life and others borrowed from nature. Satin brown patina, slightly abraded. Native restoration using a metal clip.

Ex. French collection of African art .
Stool or small table Luba/Zela Kipona with caryatid.
A figure of a woman in a crouching position forms the "receptacle of a deceased sovereign leader" (Luba, Roberts). The hands support the central circular tray whose surface is glossy. The scarifications of the female figure, protruding, in spikes, surround the umbilicus, "center of the world" associated with lineage, and those of the lower abdomen which symbolize fertility. This stool called lupona or kioni or kipona, kiona constitutes the meeting point of the sovereign, his people, and the protective spirits and ancestors. It once formed the seat on which King Mulopwe of the Luba people was enthroned. Brilliant patina ranging from orange to black-brown. Desiccation cracks, ...

Stool or small table decorated with representations of Fang du Ngil masks. Patina of use, copper staples, indigenous restorations (wicker rods).
The peoples known as Fang, or "Pahouins", described as conquering warriors, invaded by successive leaps, from village to village, the entire vast region between Sanaga in Cameroon and Ogooué in Gabon, between the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century.At the bottom of their huts, in a dark and often smoky corner, the heads of lineages carefully stored their Byéri, the relic chests and the sculptures which “watched” them. The daily life of the Fang consisted of three priorities: perpetuating social identity, surviving in a hostile natural environment, dialoguing with the deceased to distance them from the living. (Louis Perrois)

Seat named ketekle devolved to notables, but accompanying, among the Wé, the dance of young girls during celebrations associated with initiations. The accessory marks the approval of the family ancestor who owned this prestigious object. Very nice patina of use, ocher brown, velvety. Desication cracks, small accidents.

A medium of communication with the beyond, Yoruba sculpture is intended to decorate family or collective altars, and is often born of gratitude for the blessings that the gods have granted to the faithful. Matt grainy patina with a reddish brown tint.
Abrasions and cracks.
br>The use of the term Yoruba, derived from a Hausa word which designated the Yoruba of the northern kingdom of Oyo, dates from the mid-19th century. It is especially in favor of the kingdom of Oyo, which extended its hegemony over a large part of the region in the 17th and 18th centuries, that the history of the Yoruba was written. The kingdoms of Oyo and Ijebu were born following the disappearance of the Ifé civilization and are still the basis of the political structure of the Yoruba . The Oyo created ...

Sculpted stool that can be used as a pedestal table, with a very beautiful patina of use, glossy, on the seat. A naturalist character, devoid of arms, forms the support. A circular base takes up the volume of the upper top.
Cracks and abrasions.
In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo, settled in a region at the crossroads of the borders between the current DRC, Angola and Gabon. Two centuries later, the Portuguese came into contact with the Kongo and converted their king to Christianity. Although monarchical, the Kongo political system had a democratic aspect because the king was actually placed at the head of the kingdom following an election held by a council of governors of the tribes. This king, also called ntotela, controlled the appointment of ...

A prestigious object aimed at enhancing the status of its user, an expression of traditional African art, this monoxyle headrest or even "dream support", constitutes, for the tribes of Kenya and Uganda, a pillow to preserve elaborate headdresses during sleep. It was also used as a stool. Among the Turkana, they are offered to the future wife as a wedding vow, and returned to the man in case of refusal. Among the Pokot established in the region from Lake Turkana to Lake Baringo, it is the present which marks the ceremonies of the passage to adulthood or even a reward for a victory during a conflict.
Headrests frequently take the stylized form of an animal, cattle being of utmost importance to the pastoralist tribes of East Africa. This example, standing on three outward curved ...

The usual objects of African art.
Four angular legs, some of which have a carved face, support the circular seat of this small Dogon seat made of a very dense wood. Fine hatch patterns decorate the seat, forming a slight relief. The seat has a greyish brown patina. Abrasions. The Dogon are a people renowned for their cosmogony, esotericism, myths and legends. Their population is estimated at about 300,000 souls living southwest of the Niger loop in the Mopti region of Mali (Bandiagara, Koro, Banka), near Douentza and part of northern Burkina (northwest of Ouahigouya). The villages are often perched on the top of scree on the side of hills, according to a unique architecture. The history of the migrations and settlements of the Dogon (about ten main groups, about fifteen different ...

Old circular seat, with a slightly concave center, carried by three feet. The decoration consists of opposing geometric patterns, finely engraved on the uprights.
Contours and feet eroded.
Gray brown age patina.
In the southern coastal region of Tanzania, around Dar-es-Salaam, a relatively homogeneous group produced most of the artistic productions. It includes the Swahili, Kaguru, Doé, Kwéré, Luguru, Zaramo, Kami. Among these populations, the seats are thrones intended for the heads of lineage, each of them being under the protection of a tutelary spirit. These stools were set apart in shrines named kolelo, guarded by priests.

Insignia of power among the Tetela-Hamba who carried it for their meetings of initiates nkumi , this type of backrest, which also served as a seat, was also used among the Kuba, the Lélé, the Songye and the Nkutshu. This rare little stool rests here on two asymmetrical legs, the part resting on the ground carved with a face with the characteristics of the group. On the flat oval shape are inscribed geometric decorative motifs, an outgrowth symbolizing legs extends it. Slightly satiny brown patina.
Ref. : "Design in Africa, sit, lie down, dream." ed Dapper Museum.

Ex-collection of French African art.
Among the elements of traditional African furniture , the seats played a role intended to enhance the prestige of those who possessed them. Often intended for dignitaries, kings, chiefs and nobles, they are decorated with figurative motifs relating to the history and myths of the clan. In this case the character playing the role of caryatid probably refers to the female ancestor of the clan. Its presence is believed to be beneficial to its holder. Clear honey patina, desiccation cracks, indigenous restoration by means of a metal staple.

Former Belgian private collection of African art J. Putteneers.

These pieces are identified as inspired by the works of buli's Master who developed this style in the mid-19th century. A set of pieces with the same aesthetic characteristics is indeed famous in the luba statuary and is to be attributed to a sculptor or group of sculptors, opinions diverging according to the authors, under the name "Master of Buli".

The Luba are renowned for their statuary and in particular their stools consisting of one or two cariatids holding, with the help of arms and their skulls, a circular seat.
Complex scarifications are engraved on the chest and arms of the female character. The facial features are typical as well as the headdress pulled backwards.

The Luba ...