Seat, "bla bia", originated from Baule, Côte d'Ivoire
 
Material:
Wood.
 
Dimensions:
H 23 cm. L 44 cm.
 
Provenance:
David Collection, Switzerland
 
The combination of the useful and the beautiful is particularly evident in the artistically designed seats. The forms of the African seats are as varied as their uses.
Simple seats hewn from a block of wood are juxtaposed with complexly assembled chairs and royal thrones.
 
Elementary forms of the purest functionality are juxtaposed with richly ornamented pieces with figurative carvings.
 
From the market woman to the ruler, they are symbols of wealth, dignity and power. They sometimes also have their fixed place in ceremonies and ritual acts.
The seats, which are generally personally owned, are sometimes kept by surviving relatives as memorabilia until no one can remember the former owners.
 
Further reading:
Bocola, Sandro (1994). African Seats. Munich, Prestel Verlag.