Part of a chair (1900s): Art, History and Details

Part of a chair (1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This wooden piece is part of a folding chair. Along with a similarly shaped and ornamented piece, it was part of the frame for the plaited reed seat. The holes were functional and allowed the frame of the chair to open or close. The most elaborate decoration was reserved for the upper back of the chair. The simple carving at the top of this fragment depicts a Mangbetu woman with an elongated head.

Object facts

• Title: Part of a chair
• Date: 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mangbetu style, unknown carver
• Type: Furniture and woodwork
• Technique: Wood
• Dimensions: Overall: 49.9 x 2.6 x 4.6 cm (19 5/8 x 1 x 1 13/16 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1929.323

A detail from the museum

When chairs were used, their wood became a rich, dark brown. The light color of this fragment suggests it was never used and may never have been assembled into a chair.

Collection credit

Gift of the Gilpin Players of Karamu House

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.