Parcours des Mondes 2017

This publication tells us about the historical evolution of these royal stools, from the most ancient prototype styles to the kneeling and standing caryatid and atlantes styles. These thrones are considered as prestigious objects, they were mostly used for rituals, representing the strength and the power. According to F. Neyt, this Luba caryatid stool (Fig.1) "strengthens the idea of power. It shows the relation between heaven and earth. It confirms the authority of the installed Chief." The hands elevated towards the sky represents the connection between the human beings and the dead ancestors, the spiritual world. "This carved work of art also shows the Hemba's Northern cultural refinement. It is source of beauty and seduction." Some works of art (such as Fig.2) were qualified as "Disneyesque" by William Fagg (Keeper of the Anthropology Department at the Bristish Museum from 1969 to 1974) when he describes the unusual size amplification of the carved hands, which is a formal innovation in comparison with the classical style. A selection of important chosen objects from Classical African, Indonesian and Oceanic Art will be on view alongside with this thematic exhibition.