Loading
Prestige stool (Kuo fo)
possibly 1800s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
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.
Download this artwork (provided by The Cleveland Museum of Art).
Learn more about this artwork.
Details
- Title: Prestige stool (Kuo fo)
- Date Created: possibly 1800s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 51 x 38 x 43 cm (20 1/16 x 14 15/16 x 16 15/16 in.)
- Provenance: Possibly Fo (King) Fotso I and Fo Fotso II, Bandjoun Kingdom, Cameroon, Fo Kamga II Joseph (1902-1975; r. 1925-1975), Bandjoun Kingdom, Cameroon possibly by descent from the above, possibly Rev. Frank Christol (1884–1979), Charles Ratton (1895–1986), Paris, France, Charles-François Ratton (son of Charles), Paris by gift from the above, Bernard Dulon, Paris, France, Yves Develon, Private collection, Paris by purchase from Yves Develon (sold on their behalf by Galerie Bernard Dulon, Paris, France, to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Furniture and woodwork
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2006.138
- Medium: Wood, cotton, plant fiber, glass beads, and indigo
- Fun Fact: The beads on this stool were sewn on by hand. Look underneath the stool, however, and you can see commercially made printed fabric.
- Department: African Art
- Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bandjoun Kingdom, Bamileke makers
- Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Collection: African Art
- Accession Number: 2006.138
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.