Kuba Studded Two-Seat Stool with Heart Motif

A heart cut clean through the middle. Two can sit, if they are on good terms.

This two-seat stool is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved of wood and studded with nickel. The Kuba kingdom of central Africa is known for rich surface ornament, and its court and leading families prized finely decorated objects as marks of standing. Two shallow seats dip on either side of a central peak. Studs scatter across the dark front in hundreds, then tighten into diamond patterns on top and a neat line around the heart-shaped opening. Thirty and a half inches wide, and 10.5 high.

There is no third seat. That seems to be the point.