Bamileke Slatted-Splat Armchair

Built like a log cabin with armrests, and standing on four carved paddles.

This slatted-splat armchair is Bamileke, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and is contemporary work in wood. In the Cameroon Grassfields, carved seating has generally been tied to rank, and chiefs' stools and chairs are often among the most elaborate furniture made there. The back is a row of round slats around a central splat carved with stacked crescents and a sawtooth edge. The slatted seat rests on three tiers of crossed rails whose ends are cut with an X. Oval feet carry the same crescent carving. It is 24.5 inches long, 24.5 deep and 38.4 high.

Nothing about it suggests sitting down casually.