The stool is regarded as a symbol of prestige,
lifting the person above the earth, symbolic of
the gods above the world of humans. The figures
surrounding this stool are both representational
and symbolic. The large animal resembles a
stylized monkey with a curled tail arching over
its back. A snake continues the animal motif, its
body twisting over a large spoon and a solid
triangle. The snake is a symbol of fertility, as is
most probably the female figure facing frontally
with her arms above her head. Y-shaped
symbols as seen in the objects the woman holds
in her hands, and the solid triangle may relate to
fertility of the fields. The Yoruba believe that
when an artist creates a work it is thereafter
imbued with power, and the spirit of the deity
within can be "awakened" through ritual and
incantation. The beauty of this stool lies in its
rough hewn quality, as if the sculptor was
anxious to reach the magic within the wood
itself, drawing from deep inside the symbols
important to his people.
- (PF.4995)
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