Oromo 2-Seat Chair with Cowhide Seat

Open weave beneath, two rails above, and a lot of red-brown wood.

Oromo makers of Ethiopia, East Africa, made this two-seat chair in wood and leather in the late 19th or early 20th century. Chairs with hide seats were commonly made for ordinary home use across the region. Here the seat is an open lattice of leather thongs, woven tight over a pole frame. Two horizontal rails form the back. The front legs are turned into stacked rings, and the wood carries a rubbed, reddish brown finish with knots and age marks.

About 38 inches tall. Light-footed for a bench, and airy on a porch or in a library.