Artwork Page for Prestige Chair

Details / Information for Prestige Chair

Prestige Chair

1800s

Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Babanki-style maker

Medium
Wood and paint
Measurements
Overall: 80.7 x 53.3 x 44.5 cm (31 3/4 x 21 x 17 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift in memory of his parents, Wheeler B. and Dorothy Preston by Mary and John Preston 1983.33
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

A British soldier acquired this work in Cameroon during the First World War.

Description

This stately chair attributed to the Babanki peoples of the Cameroon Grassfields features an unusual configuration of male and female figures. They are mounted on stylized leopards, animals revered as embodiments of power and royalty, which stand atop a base of three undulating rings bearing 24 heads. Chairs like this one serve as visual records that help mark kingships through the ages, conveying power and authority. The chair type was relatively common at the time; they were carved for sale to Europeans and local patrons, and also used as articles of royal gift exchange.
Dark brown wood chair with red undertones and a cylindrical base created by three rows of angular carved faces. Between each face in a row is a hollow space and between each row an undulating strip of wood. Above this, the chair's back is flanked by stylized leopards ridden by human-like figures. The leopards are speckled with concave spots and the profile of another leopard, facing our left, supports the square back of the chair.

Prestige Chair

1800s

Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Babanki-style maker

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