Minneapolis Institute of Art

Chief's chair

Asante artist

Date

19th century

Medium

Wood, leather, brass

Culture

Asante

Department

Arts of Global Africa

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Asante people of Ghana developed a complex “seating culture, ” with numerous types of stools and chairs employed in different contexts. A striking seat used by the aristocracy is the decoratively carved folding chair, likely based on early European travelers’ chairs. Its back is carved in a perforated pattern, and the entire surface is covered with brass tacks and metal parts. This chair is unusual because of its rich imagery, showing various birds, a person holding a rifle, a turtle and a coiled snake, a shell and a crocodile chasing a fish, and on the front and back rails, the so-called “wisdom knot, ” a symbol of intelligence and unity. Africa

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