Stool
- Gallery: Room 25
- Maker: Ngongo ya Chintu
- Made in: Democratic Republic of Congo
- Date: 1905 (or earlier)
- Object type: stool
- Materials: wood; glass; cotton; fibre
- Museum number: Af1905,0613.1.a-j
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a remarkable wooden stool, sculpted to rest on the posture of a kneeling female figure. The form of the figure is both functional and symbolic, supporting the seat while alluding to themes of power and legacy in Luba royal culture.
Beadwork adorns the stool's front and back aprons, using vibrant colors such as pink, blue, and white. Fringes and delicate side loops of glass beads are arranged with care, reflecting the artistry of the maker. Additional strings of beads drape from the piece, adding movement and texture.
This stool was created in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo by the master carver Ngongo ya Chintu. It is believed to come from the Buli region, where it may have belonged to a chief or king. In Luba tradition, such stools serve as powerful, ceremonial objects—linking people to the past, and even to ancestral spirits.
See it in person
Stool is on display in Room 25 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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