[Chair] This chair, a sign of high prestige, probably belonged to an important Ngombe chief. An artist carved the legs and body of the chair from a single block of wood in the customary African fashion.

Using European joinery techniques, he then added the rungs. He decorated the chair with European brass and iron tacks--highly valued trade imports that indicated the owner's wealth and rank.

Courtesy of theNational Museum of African Art, museum purchase.

Chair, early 20th century, Ngombe peoples, Zaire, wood, brass tacks, and iron tacks

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