Most African groups have social systems
which are rigorously controlled and clearly
flagged through the use of status symbols
and socially significant regalia. Tchokwe
rulers (mwanangana) are entitled to employ
specialist craftsmen whose job it is to
produce high-quality evidence of
conspicuous consumption, far outranking in
terms of opulence anything that could be
produced by semi-professional songi and fuli
craftsmen. Courtiers and what in western
terms might be considered to be the
prosperous middle classes made their
aspirations known through the
commissioning and ownership of luxury
goods such as this. Once western influence
reached the Tchokwe, the traditional format
of stools – which have always been
associated with high social status – gave
way to a more westernised chair style,
although these would also be decorated with
indigenous motifs. The current example is
more traditional and probably older than
these later innovations. Carved from a single
piece of wood, this stool is made in the form
of a large, ornate bird, with the body forming
the seat. It stands on an integral base on
stocky legs, and the stool surface sweeps
upwards distally so that the “tail” is the
most elevated part of the seat. Both the legs
and the body/tail are decorated with
geometric motifs based around triangles.
These demarcate a plain area in the centre
of the stool (the bird's back) that is ringed
with brass studs and finished with a
cruciform design that is often found on
Tchokwe works. Anteriorly, the bird’s neck
extends downwards and then rears up to
form the head. The neck is plain with some
stud decoration. The head resembles that of
a raptor, with a hooked beak and a large
ovoid eye that is decorated with a brass
stud. The general proportions of the cranial
complex suggest that it was based upon a
vulture. The stool is finished with a necklace
of cloth and Congolese coins (dating from
the 1920s), another of white beads and
seeds, and a third of black and white animal
fur with two marine shells (a cowrie and
conch – probably from the Indian Ocean).
The bird is gripping a large, threaded seed
pod on a string in its beak. The Tchokwe are
known for producing highly decorated
utilitarian and status objects, including bed-
like stools that are clearly designed for social
elites. This remarkable object would seem to
belong in that category.
- (LSO.254)
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