Cleveland Museum of Art

Prestige stool (Kuo fo)

Date

possibly 1800s

Medium

Wood, cotton, plant fiber, glass beads, and indigo

Culture

Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bandjoun Kingdom, Bamileke makers

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Bead-covered wooden stools and thrones are one of the most prevalent art forms among the various kingdoms and chiefdoms in the Cameroon Grassfields region. This example, once part of the royal treasury, belongs in the category of "travel stools," usually used in conjunction with more private, minor ceremonies and rituals at the palace. The leopard imagery confirms the object’s royal status. It alludes to the belief that the king could temporarily transform himself into this feared predator. The beads on this stool were sewn on by hand. Look underneath the stool, however, and you can see commercially made printed fabric.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.