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Chair

National Museum of African Art

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Object Details

Asante artist
Label Text
Chairs among the Asante are royal or chiefly regalia and are used on state occasions. Derived from 17th-century European prototypes, they lack the spiritual symbolism of stools but do convey prestige. The number of chairs and the degree of elaboration vary with of importance of the ruler. The asipim is the most common. The name means "I stand firm," a reference both to its own sturdy construction and the stability of the ruler.
Description
Low armless chair with slightly inclined backrest with arched top and cast copper alloy finials. The back and seat are of stretched leather attached with brass upholstery tacks. The wood frame is decorated with upholstery tacks, bosses and strips of sheet brass.
Provenance
Bud C. Holland, Chicago, -- to 1993
Tom and Rita Bakos, Harrisburg, 1993 to 2000
Exhibition History
The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, April 15 to August 12, 2018
BIG/small, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-July 23, 2006
Published References
Walker, Roslyn A. 2018. The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art. illustrated p. 89
Hoffman, Ronald. 2007. "'The Bloody Writing is For Ever Torn': Domestic and International Consequences of the First Governmental Efforts to Abolish the Atlantic Slave Trade." Conference DVD set (August 8-12, Accra and Elmina, Ghana). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
Credit Line
Gift of Tom and Rita Bakos
Late 19th-early 20th century
Object number
2000-19-1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Decorative Arts
Medium
Wood, copper alloy, iron, leather, fur, paint
Dimensions
H x W x D: 76.5 x 42.4 x 48.9 cm (30 1/8 x 16 11/16 x 19 1/4 in.)
Geography
Ghana
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Object Name
asipim
National Museum of African Art
Topic
Status
male
Record ID
nmafa_2000-19-1
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys72050c81f-a947-47fa-af26-37afb9e7ed1d

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