Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bandjoun Kingdom, Bamileke makers / possibly 1800s
Prestige stool (Kuo fo)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Prestige stool (Kuo fo) as furniture and woodwork (Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bandjoun Kingdom, Bamileke makers · possibly 1800s).
The beads on this stool were sewn on by hand. Look underneath the stool, however, and you can see commercially made printed fabric.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this furniture and woodwork as Wood, cotton, plant fiber, glass beads, and indigo.
The museum's collection notes: Bead-covered wooden stools and thrones are one of the most prevalent art forms among the various kingdoms and chiefdoms in the Cameroon Grassfields region. This example, once part of the royal treasury, belongs in the category of "travel stools," usually used in conjunction with more private, minor ceremonies and rituals at the palace. The leopard imagery confirms the object’s royal status. It alludes to the belief that the king could temporarily transform himself into this feared predator.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPrestige stool (Kuo fo)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.