Armchair with caryatid figures
20th century
Object PlaceCote d'Ivoire
Medium/Techniquewood, stain or pigment, nails
DimensionsOverall: 87 x 73 x 54.5 cm (34 1/4 x 28 3/4 x 21 7/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2648
On View
Not on viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
Elaborate chairs modeled after European chairs were used by community leaders and important figures. As explorers and merchants made contact with indigenous communities in Africa, the form of the chairs brought from Europe made their way into the stately paraphernalia of community leaders. Craftsmen incorporated local themes and forms into these "thrones". The legs of this chair are modeled after Senufo ancestral figurines.
Provenance1951, sold by Galerie Carrefour, 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