Cleveland Museum of Art

Prestige Chair

Date

1800s

Medium

Wood and paint

Culture

Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Babanki-style maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This stately chair attributed to the Babanki peoples of the Cameroon Grassfields features an unusual configuration of male and female figures. They are mounted on stylized leopards, animals revered as embodiments of power and royalty, which stand atop a base of three undulating rings bearing 24 heads. Chairs like this one serve as visual records that help mark kingships through the ages, conveying power and authority. The chair type was relatively common at the time; they were carved for sale to Europeans and local patrons, and also used as articles of royal gift exchange. A British soldier acquired this work in Cameroon during the First World War.

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