Anthropomorphic Stool (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This unusual work appears to be both a stool and a spirit or guardian figure. The lower, scoop-like section seems to form a seat. However, evidence of wear and insect damage on the lower areas, as well as traces of offerings on the upper surface at the base of the neck, suggest that the object was kept upright, perhaps leaning against the wall of a shrine. The use of this object as an altar reinforces the head as a representation of an ancestor or guardian spirit whose blessing and guidance might have been sought through offerings of food and other rituals.
Little is known about the practices of the Mumuye, who live in a remote region and are very secretive. Only two other Mumuye works like this are known to exist, and their meaning and use are not well understood. Nevertheless, the work’s strong symbolic character is consistent with attitudes in other African cultures involving complex, sculpted stools. For the everyday task of sitting, there are plain and simple stools. An elaborate stool, however, is made for the use of a prestigious owner and is thought to manifest the owner’s spirit when he or she is absent. In practice, a stool is often turned on its side to prevent a wandering spirit from taking over the seat when the owner is not sitting on it. Elaborate stools are also periodically bathed, while some that represent ancestral spirits are never used for sitting but are instead reserved for private rituals in which offerings are poured over them, as might be the case with this work.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
