Ashanti Stool with Feline Motif

A broad-nosed cat crouches under the seat with a tail curled up like a handle

This stool with feline motif is Ashanti, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is wood. Many stool designs illustrate Ashanti proverbs, of which there are more than 3,600, and the meaning of a carved image was sometimes left open to interpretation, inviting discussion among the people. A stool with a wide concave seat of warm honey tone, held by a four-legged animal with an open mouth and a long curling tail. A step-shaped base supports the figure. Small pale inlaid dots mark the seat ends. It is 22 inches long, 11 deep and 17 high.

A tiny beast with the world's most uncomfortable job.