Tribal Arts

We present here, almost exclusively, seats coming from Africa, those from Asia being very rare, their populations prefering to sit directly onto the floor.
More than any other piece of furniture, seats from black Africa adopt forms of remarkable inventiveness and are of a very wide variety of styles. Their smooth surfaces not only invite to rest, but also show very sophisticated ornamentations. The technical skill and imagination of traditional craftmen contributes to increase the prestige of the owner of the seat, and the most ornate can also be used to promote a political position. No other non-European civilization offers such varied forms of seats; from the throne of a chieftain to the stool of common use, with variety from one tribe to another…
Part of the collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva is here online.