20th C. Ashanti Carved Wood Stool or Headrest with Hunters and Lion

West Africa, Ghana, Ashanti. A carved wood stool or headrest in which a hunt in progress holds up the seat. The gently curved, winged top rests on a lion and two hunters, all carved together with a rectangular plinth. One man lies on his back with the lion's paw pressed on his chest. He thrusts a knife up toward the roaring animal, and his rifle lies uselessly beside him in low relief. His companion kneels nearby and aims a long-barreled rifle at the lion's head. Both men wear silver-colored helmets. The lion's mane is crosshatched in fine incised lines, and its open jaws are set with inlaid fangs of bone or tooth. Traces of red pigment pick out the lion's face and appear throughout the carving. The scene is dramatic, though the outcome is still undecided. Among the Asante (Ashanti) and other Akan peoples, the carved stool (dwa) is more than furniture. It is closely tied to its owner's identity, and stools of chiefs and royalty were blackened and kept as ancestral shrines after death. The classic form has a curved seat on a central support set on a flat base. During the 20th century, carvers increasingly replaced that support with figures and narrative scenes. Many of these were made for a wider market, and the lion appears often in them as an image of strength and danger. Item # 203933

Estimate:£375.15

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