Caryatid stool
D. R. Congo, Songye
not available anymore
Provenance
Daniel Hourdé & Philippe Ratton, Paris, FrancePhilippe Laeremans, Liège, Belgium
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 23 September 2006, lot 379
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium
David Blackhurst, Bakersfield, USA
Size
H: 46,5 cm
H: 18.3 inch
Description
wood, dark brown patina, female figure rising from disproportionate large feet, min. dam., cracks (plinth, torso, seat), base.
The use of such stools was subject to special occacions, such as birth, initiation, marriage, or 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 ritual functions.
Comparing literature
Bocola, Sandro (Hg.), Afrikanische Sitze, München, New York 1994, p. 124Publications
AHDRC: 0042143