Collection record · Objects & craft
Stool
The collection record classifies this work as furniture and woodwork. It is dated before 1929. Recorded culture or place: Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nyanga, early 20th Century.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Stool
- Date
- before 1929
- Culture / origin
- Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nyanga, early 20th Century
- Materials and technique
- wood
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 26.8 cm (10 9/16 in.); Overall: 27 cm (10 5/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1929.345
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
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.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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