Man's stool
20th century
Object PlaceBurkina Faso
Medium/TechniqueWood
DimensionsOverall: 75 x 20 x 97 cm (29 1/2 x 7 7/8 x 38 3/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2726
On View
Not on viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
A man's stool carved from one piece of wood, originating from the Nuna peoples in what is now part of Burkina Faso. In this region of West Africa, stools with three legs are reserved for men, while women's chairs have four legs. The anthropomorphic shape of the piece is emphasized by the elegant swoop of the elongated seat and the spinal-cord like protrusions on its back.
Inscriptionsin black marker on underside: "LO0"Provenance1946, sold by Madeleine Rousseau (b. 1895 - d. 1980), Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
20th century