Caryatid stool

Description

wood, brown patina, red pigment, blackened in parts, in form of a kneeling female figure, prominent navel, rep. (breakage seat), missing parts, traces of insect caused damage and abrasion, cracks;
the use of such stools was reserved for special occacions, such as birth, initiation, marriage, or in 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.