Stool (1) - Wood - Fante / Ashanti - Ghana

A typical, very beautiful, stylised anthropomorphic stool of the Fante or Ashanti, made from a light, hard wood, with a seat arching upwards. This relatively large piece has a good, old patina from use (seating surface!) and minor age-related damage. Every Ashanti, whether man or woman, had their own stool, which was also considered the 'seat of the soul' of its owner. If the stool was not being used, it was leaned at a diagonal against a wall, so that no passing, unfamiliar 'souls' could alight on it. From a private collection in Germany (Karl-Heinz Krieg) .