Stool (before 1929): Art, History and Details

Stool (before 1929) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Carved from a single piece of wood, Nyanga stools like this were multipurpose and took on different meanings depending on their use. Shaped like a curved hourglass, the shiny, patinated surface is textured with incised geometric designs. One use was for young male initiates to sit on as they received gifts from relatives following circumcision rites. The stools were oiled for the occasion, which results in the smooth, colored texture visible today.

Object facts

• Title: Stool
• Date: before 1929
• Culture: Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nyanga, early 20th Century
• Type: Furniture and woodwork
• Technique: wood
• Dimensions: Diameter: 26.8 cm (10 9/16 in.); Overall: 27 cm (10 5/8 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1929.345

A detail from the museum

This stool isn't asymmetrical, it's ergonomic! The seat tilts to make it more comfortable to use.

Collection credit

Gift of the African Art Sponsors 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.