Traditional Stool - Ashanti People - Ghana

Price: $895.00


 


Many civilizations & ancient societies worship the dead and communicate with their spirits in numerous ways, but none of them communicate with their ancestors through the medium of a stool. This practice is unique to the Ashanti. For the Ashanti the stool is the central object in their spiritual lives. Ancestral stool temples and shrines are the customary places of communal worship. These stools are sacred objects. When an Ashanti carver is commissioned by a chief, priest, or other high-ranking member of society to carve a stool, it is an exceptional honor. The symbols in the carving convey messages, and the stool will eventually house the spirit of the owner. The curvature of the seat is known as the mother's embrace. The type of stool matches the status of the patron.

13.5"H x 23.5"W x 11.5"D