Prestige Chair
Unknown Artist
1800s
Medium
Wood and paint
Dimensions
80.7 × 53.3 × 44.5 cm
Classification
Furniture and woodwork
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift in memory of his parents, Wheeler B. and Dorothy Preston by Mary and John Preston
Accession Number
1983.33
About this artwork
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...