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Stool
Cameroon Grassfields
20th century
Object Place: Cameroon
Medium/Technique
wood
Dimensions
Overall: 24.5 x 34 x 27.3 cm (9 5/8 x 13 3/8 x 10 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2584
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsFurniture – Seating and beds
The Cameroon grasslands is a mountainous region located in western Cameroon in which many small groups live. Among the larger of the groups is the Bamum, who reside in the eastern section of the grasslands. One of the most important status symbols amongst the Bamum, as well as other kingdoms within the grasslands, is the stool. Although many people owned their own stools, kings were given the most elaborately carved stools. This stool is rather simple and was probably not associated with a royal figure.
Provenance1977, acquired in Douala, Cameroon, by Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)