Kuba Studded Throne Chair

Count the studs if you like. Bring a free afternoon.

This studded throne chair is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, made in the 20th century of wood with metal studs and encrustations. In the Kuba kingdom, a court culture that lavished pattern on nearly everything, seats like this are generally understood to have marked the rank of chiefs and titleholders. Here, pale metal studs run in triangles, chevrons and lines over back, seat and legs, leaving dark wedges of bare wood. A single long sweep forms seat and back, with a notched outer edge. Thick square legs and stretchers hold it up. Thirty-two inches high.

It leans back and expects you to do the same.