Hey, hey everybody. I hope its been a splendid week!
If you missed the first installment of My African Art Collection, here's a sneak peek below.
If you like what you see, then go pop in by the first installment here My African Art Collection
Righteo, onto part 2.
Here I have a Chokwe Stool. As is quite traditional in Africa, the stools are quite low, sitting at about 20cm (7.87inches) high.
The stool sits at the entrance of my home, so I use it to put my wallet, keys and so on there.
There are signs of wear along the base and seat, and it has some copper studs on the top, as was quite traditional with the Chokwe people.
Resting next to the Chokwe Stool, is a Sachihongo Mask.
I tracked the information down about the mask many years ago and found a similar example online, but since I haven't been able to find anything again. The deep, arching lines across the forehead are quite unique to the masks of the Mbunda people. It is said to represent Wisdom of the Elders.
The masks are used during inititiation rituals, when boys become men. As is quite customary, circumcisions form part of these initiations.
Next up, is a Chokwe Chief Chair, with a statue I'm unfamiliar with.
These chairs came about when the Chokwe people came into contact with Portuguese traders. They adopted the European style chair and made their own version, maintaining their traditional signature.
Aside from the fact that there are various signature traits on these chairs, like responsibilities of the chief, inititiation rites etc. the chairs are much lower than European ones, with the seat height sitting at around 25cm (9.8 inches).
The seat is made of leather and decorated with brass studs all around.
What I love about these chairs are the carved figures under the seat. It's like having a bunch of Tribal Statues in one 😃
I'll delve into the Chokwe people in more detail in another post, with some more detailed pics 😊
That's it for this installment. Next time, I'm going to focus on a single piece and the Tribe it stemmed from. It's a real beauty and the Tribe it comes from has a very sad history, so be sure to stick around.
Thanks for popping by. Peace and love to you all!
Cheers 🍺
