Bamileke Chief's Seat, Cameroon XX

Bamileke stool decorated with rotating figures covered in copper and beaded on all sides. The top, in very good condition, is covered with small cowrie shells. Seats and stools are not only objects intended for practical use, they convey a much deeper meaning. Within many ethnic groups, seats are part of the regal objects or, at least, objects linked to the position of chief in the social hierarchy. Like neckrests, these are sometimes very personal objects that will not be lent and will be made for a single owner. Among the seats, we also find thrones or chairs, as seen in the Grassland of Cameroon: the beaded royal thrones of the Bamoun and Bamileke. Chairs are more commonly seen among the Chokwé. Like all everyday objects, sculptors have given free rein to their creativity in order to make these banal objects true works of African art.