Baga Wood Stool, Guinea

A stool with a waist, and legs bent like dancers at the knee.

Baga carvers of Guinea, West Africa, made this stool in wood in the 20th century. Carved stools across West Africa are often seats of status, and in many communities they are personal property of some importance. A broad round seat rests on three angular supports around a central column, all springing from a flared, hollowed base. The grain has darkened to a rich brown, with a glossy top and softly worn edges.

About eleven inches high and as wide. It will hold a lamp, a plant, or a grudge.