Ethiopian Chair with Plaited Leather Seat

Four long legs on small domes, as if it had lifted its skirts to cross a wet floor.

This chair with plaited leather seat is from Ethiopia, East Africa, early 20th century, of wood and leather. In Ethiopia, hand-joined chairs often marked out a person of authority or an honored guest, and hide lacing took the place of nails or glue. Lean, weathered posts carry three wide back slats, and long paddle arms reach forward over turned supports. Leather strips, wrapped at the corners, weave the open seat. Thirty-five inches high and twenty-six wide.

Few chairs look so ready to walk off on their own.