Ashanti Wood Figural Stool

A crouching figure on hands and knees gets a seat for its back

This figural stool 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 stool with a wide curved seat held up by a human figure kneeling and bent forward, head nearly touching the base. A rectangular base with incised lines grounds it. The finish is reddish brown with a smooth worn finish. It is 21.5 inches long, 10.5 deep and 13.5 high.

An unglamorous job, but beautifully executed.