Luba Tetela chief stool

Prestige and authority in the African tradition

Here is a rare African Luba Tetela stool. We know in the Luba kingdom the famous kipona or lupona, the chief's stools intended to establish the authority of dignitaries. They are most often composed of a seat supported by caryatid characters bearing the effigy of the founding ancestor of the kingdom. But there is a rarer typology of these pieces: the one I am offering you here, more abstract and devoid of anthropomorphic figures. A central pillar retains the seat and four arched arms of the most beautiful effect contribute to the solidity of the room while being nicely decorated.

This is a typology found in a Luba sub-group, the Tetela. They also produced a body of specific nkishi masks and statues.