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Portfolios%3D%22575%22%20and%20Disp_Obj_Type%3D%22Woodwork%22
Woodwork
Stool
Asante artist, (active )
Asante artist
Ghana
Primary
10 3/4 x 18 x 9 in. (27.3 x 45.7 x 22.9 cm)
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Wood
Wood
Asante; made in Ghana
0
0
1900-2000, African art, Asante, chairs
Woodwork
In many African cultures, objects (such as carved figures and masks) can act as physical surrogates for spirits wishing to communicate and interact with the living. Stools are central objects in Asante spirituality. The Asante believe the stool used in life houses the owner’s soul in death. This is based in the story of The Golden Stool that descended from the heavens to land in (and thereby legitimize) the lap of the first Asante king. The Asante saying goes, “A man with no stool is a man with no dignity.”
[Gallery label text, 2009]
The treatment of stools as sacred objects is unique to the Asante kingdom - an Akan empire founded by the great leader Osei Tutu in the late seventeenth century. The tradition began with the great Golden Stool which legend relates floated down from the sky and fell in the lap of Osei Tutu. To this day, the Golden Stool stands as a representation of the soul, or spirit (sunsum) of the Asante people. It is not a throne, but rather a powerful, sacred object, that is guarded by each successive king and forbidden to be sat upon or to touch the ground.
The most lavish stools are rewarded to important chiefs or members of the royal court, but commoners also maintain more modest stools. The stool is said to absorb some of the sunsum, or spirit, of his owner. Such an intimate link between owner and stool is reflected in the treatment of the stool after the owner's death. A high official's stool is linked to his role in office and when the owner dies, it is said that "a stool has fallen." The stool is then "blackened" and kept on its side in a separate "stool room." The soul of the ancestor is said to be embodied in the blackened stool.
[Gallery label text]
1962.24
item
Memorial Art Gallery
11/28/2000
62.24SL1
slide
full
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
62.24DI#3
digital image
62.24_A3.jpg
1/22/2008
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/62.24_A3.jpg
glossy
full
8 x 10
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
glossy
full
8 x 10
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
full
4 x 5
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
full
2 x 3
00/00/00
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62.24DI1
digital image
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/62.24_A1.jpg
62.24DI#2
digital image
Front
1/22/2008
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/62.24_A2.jpg
Woodwork
Ceremonial Canoe Paddle
Austral Islands artist, (active )
Austral Islands artist
Austral Islands
41 1/4 x 9 in. (104.8 x 22.9 cm)
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Wood
Wood
0
0
1800-1900, 1900-2000, canoe paddles, Oceanic, Oceanic art (Pacific Islands), sculpture
Woodwork
Based on the size and intricately carved surface it is unlikely that this was ever used as a canoe paddle. Although knowledge of their original function is lost, it is believed that paddles like this may have been used to accentuate a dancer’s movements during ritual performances. By the late 19th century Austral artists recognized Westerners’ interest in the paddles fine carving and craftsmanship and began making them for the market.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
1953.31
item
Memorial Art Gallery
3/20/2001
53.31SL1
slide
full
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
glossy
8x10
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
glossy
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
53.31DI1
digital image
full
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/53.31_A1.jpg
53.31DI#2
digital image
7/28/2009
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/53.31_A2.jpg
Woodwork
Canoe Prow
Sero artist, (active )
Sero artist
Papua New Guinea
54 x 10 x 14 1/2 in. (137.2 x 25.4 x 36.8 cm)
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Wood
Wood
Sero; made in Iniyok Village, Lower May River Region, New Guinea
ca. 1944
1939
1949
Oceanic, Oceanic art (Pacific Islands)
Woodwork
1976.67
item
Memorial Art Gallery
11/27/2000
glossy
8x10
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
negative
4x5
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
76.67DI2
digital image
8x10
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/76.67_A1.jpg
76.67DI#2
digital image
side view
6/18/2008
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/76.67_A2.jpg
76.67DI#3
digital image
Three-quarter
6/18/2008
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/76.67_A3.jpg