Personage Stool - Bamiléké people, Cameroon Grasslands

Description

Stool - (Spider) Bamiléké peoples, Cameroon Grasslands
The spider plays a crucial role in solving problems within traditional Bamiléké villages through a process referred to as, common
∆gam
, "
spider divination
".
Because the earth spider lives underground, it is viewed as a link between this world and that of the ancestors, and the symbol of wisdom.
Among the Bamiléké / Bamoun, it was believed that spiders do not lie.
Spiders are symbols of wisdom in myths, stories and on carvings: another law which
Njoya
repealed was a restriction on the use of spiders as a decorative motif on bedposts.  The use of
spider divination
was banned as treasonable.  The health and safety of a chief could be discovered through spider divination, and therefore its use was prohibited in order to preserve State secrets.
In Bamileke art, the spider's shape is represented by a cross "X" rosette (six or eight-star pattern) --- all of which are symbolic of divine knowledge.
Condition:
(see photos)
·
Measures 10.6 inches diameter x 11 inches tall.
·
Hand carved from a single piece of Teum wood.
·
There is a chip (previous damage) missing from one edge, but it does not detract from this personage stool’s elegance.
·
A beautiful, stool with obvious use and age.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS, THE COST OF SHIPPING WILL BE HIGHER.