Stool Item Number: 1264/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Brass stool with flared rectangular piece on top, central column with two-semi-circle attachments on either side, and a rectangular base. An engraved scalloped design is found around the perimeter of the flared rectangular piece. Triangular-shaped line designs are found around the perimeter of the central column. Triangular-shaped edging is attached to the rim of the semi-circle attachments. The base is decorated with a series of thin horizontal lines and two thick vertical lines.

History Of Use

For the Akan (or Asante), the stool was used as a symbol of power and political office. In this bureaucratic system, the stool was usually carved from a single piece of wood and was kept by individual chiefs within the Akan states as a claim to power and land ownership. The stool can be seen as a supernatural entity, which symbolizes the identity of its owner. The designs that are visible on the surface of the stool’s support reflects a specific meaning to its user. The stool of the Asantehene (monarch), their claim to power over the Ashanti nation, is the Golden Stool (Sika Kofi Dwa).

Specific Techniques

Made with the cire-perdue or lost-wax method. The mould is made of beeswax, covered with clay, and then fired. The wax melts and the hollow clay cast is then filled with scraps of copper-based alloy, before being fired for a second time.

Item History

What

Name
Stool
Identification Number
1264/1
Type of Item
stool
Material
brass metal
Overall
height 8.0 cm, width 16.0 cm, depth 5.0 cm

Who

Culture
Asante
Previous Owner
Dugal Macgregor
Received from
Dugal Macgregor (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Ghana

When

Collection Date
between 1967 and 1973
Ownership Date
before February 8, 1988
Acquisition Date
on February 8, 1988

Other

Item Classes
metalwork
Condition
good
Current Location
Case 98
Accession Number
1264/0001