Kuba Studded Reclining Chair with 'Target' Pattern

Studded, sloped and covered in targets. Sitting upright is not on the agenda.

This studded reclining chair is Kuba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, made in the 20th century of wood with metal studs and encrustations. Among the Kuba, whose court art favors dense geometric pattern, a studded reclining chair like this was likely a prestige seat for a man of rank, made for resting in comfort and for showing standing. A long, shallow sweep forms the seat and back. Concentric rings of bright studs march up it in a staggered pattern, each ring around a dark center, and more studs scatter over the thick, slab-like legs. Forty-one and a half inches wide and 24 high.

Reclining has seldom looked this disciplined.