Ashanti Stool with Leopard Motif

A stylized cat shape lugging a pale curved seat on its back

This stool with leopard motif is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is wood. Carvers honored with commissions for chiefs and priests needed exceptional skill and knowledge of Ashanti moral codes, and royal motifs such as elephants and leopards were reserved for the king and chiefs. A light-colored stool whose curved seat sits on a boxy animal form with a head at one end and a tail curving up the other side. The surface is pale and softly worn, on a flat base with a raised pad. It is 18 inches long, 10 deep and 13 high.

The cat is carrying all of this without a word.