stol, ceremonistol, ceremonial chair

Description:

Chair of light brown wood with dark patina, cut from a piece of wood. At the bottom a round pedestal from which four legs rise towards the seater. Two of the legs make up the body of a man’s figure that funnies as a backrest on the chair, the other two are heavily bent. The figure is turned out of the chair. The figure has feet with four toes on each foot. Arms hanging down from the body with hands, each having five fingers. A big head with mouth cut in low relief, sentient nose. Eyes made of seashells and clearly marked eyebrows. Outstanding ears and heads that end in a transverse black and white painted comb. The figure is painted black up to the middle on the belly, from there red. The face is painted red with a laid white layer of lime in a way that makes red curvy lines and circles appear. The remaining chair is colored red. The back is uncoloured, and at the top of the back of the head a cut vertical cam/tassel is fitted. Chairs like this play an important ceremonial role in the Sepika area and mainly in Middle Sepik. They have never been used to sit on. They are usually placed at the middle pillar in the men’s ceremonial house and are the figurative representation of the most important village spirit. It also represents the spirit of the clan on whose land one built the men’s house. The chair has also had an important role in warfare, when profit or loss has been declared with the chair present or not present at the time of the war. Furthermore, the chair has an important role in political life. All cases concerning the village must be discussed with the presence of the chair. Whoever is to speak is standing his chair and holding a bundle of leaves in his hand. For every argument he puts forward, he puts a leaf on his chair to strength it. When finished, the leaves remain on his chair until the next speaker presents his ideas.

Location:

Papua New Guinea

Format:

image

Collections:

Museum of Ethnography

Content partner:

Museum of Ethnography

Availability:

Not specified