Beaded Throne

This throne exhibits mandu-yene, the "richness of beads" emblematic of royal prestige. It is embellished with thousands of European glass beads and cowry shells stitched onto a cloth base. Stools supported by images of leopards, as this example is, symbolize a king's fearsome, political and supernatural powers. The royal ancestor figure forming the throne's back wears a prestige cap, chevron-bead necklace, loincloth and European officer's coat, adopted as a symbol of rank and status. Seated on this throne, the king was literally and spiritually embraced by the outstretched arms of his royal ancestor, signifying the continuity of dynastic authority.