stol, ceremonistol, skulptur, sculpture, ceremonial chair

Chair of light brown wood with dark patina, cut from a piece of wood. At the bottom a round pedestal from which three legs rise towards the seater. Two of the legs make up the body of a man’s figure that funnel as a backrest on the chair. The figure is turned out of the chair. The figure has feet with four toes on each foot. Arms hanging down from the body with hands, each with four fingers. A large head with mouth cut in low relief, large pierced nose. Eyes made of seashells and clearly marked eyebrows. Outstanding ears and heads that end in a crosswise comb. The figure is painted with white legs, a crescent-shaped white painting on the chest, an upside down V from the nose root over the cheeks. A white dash in the forehead that passes to a red painting of the remaining forehead. White painted ears. Chairs like this play an important ceremonial role in the Sepika area and mainly in Middle Sepik. They have never been used to sit on. They are usually placed at the middle pillar in the men’s ceremonial house and are the figurative representation of the most important village spirit. It also represents the spirit of the clan on whose land one built the men’s house. The chair has also had an important role in warfare, when profit or loss has been declared with the chair present or not present at the time of the war. Furthermore, the chair has an important role in political life. All cases concerning the village must be discussed with the presence of the chair. Whoever is to speak is standing his chair and holding a bundle of leaves in his hand. For every argument he puts forward, he puts a leaf on his chair to strength it. When finished, the leaves remain on his chair until the next speaker presents his ideas.