Caryatid stool · D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3032022
Hans Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Walter Schweizer, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
René David, Zurich, Switzerland (1968)
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Description
wood, shiny, reddish brown patina, powerful expressive forms, min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion, insect caused damage on the underside of the base;
the use of such stools was reserved for special occacions, such as birth, initiation, marriage, or a case of death. They were reserved for a political and spiritual “upper class”, such as chiefs, priests, medicine men, healers and dignitaries. They mainly fullfilled representative and/or ritual functions, but were donated to kings or merited dignitaries as well. They were not destined to be shown in public.
The object Caryatid stool with the object ID 3032022 was last part of the auction 68th tribal art auction at March 3, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 250 achieved a sales price of EUR 17,000.
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Comparing literature
Bocola, Sandro (Hg.), Afrikanische Sitze, München, New York 1994, p. 124
Publications
Afrique Noire, Sculptures des collections privées suisses, La Chaux-de-Fond 1971, ill. 35
Exhibition
Arts d´Afrique et d´Oceanie, Cannes 1957, No 273; Afrique Noire, Musée des Beaux Arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds 1971, 27.3. - 6.6. 1971