Zande stool
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1948.2.138
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Zande
Date Made:
By 1930
Materials:
Wood Plant , Pigment
Process:
Carved , Stained , Decorated , Grooved
Dimensions:
Ht = 210, seat L = 310, W = 308, th = 24.5; handle grip hole L = 92, W = 23; pedestal fenestration = 73, W = 65.5; base diam = 269 x 265, th = 23.5 [RTS 14/4/2005].
Weight:
>1000 g
Local Name:
mbata?
Other Owners:
Probably collected by Evans-Pritchard himself during his fieldwork amongst the Zande, which took place during 1927, part of 1928 and 1929 and for several months during 1930 [CM; RTS 6/7/2004].
Field Collector:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Found unentered February 1948
Collected Date:
1927 - 1930
Description:
Stool carved from a single block of wood, consisting of a circular top with narrow flat rim and flat, slightly recessed seat with semicircular hand-grip cut near one edge.
The underside is flat, and has a squat cylindrical pedestal extending from its centre.
This has a thickened, convex-sided central section with square window cut through the body, set on a flaring disc foot with a shallow ovoid depression carved into the centre of the underside, probably added to increase the stability of the form.
A series of four v-shaped grooves have been cut into the base of the pedestal, radiating out to the edge of the base.
The upper part of the seat and the underside of the foot have been left the natural yellow colour of the wood (Pantone 7508C), but all other areas, including the inside edges of the fenestration, have been stained a dark brownish black (Pantone black 7C); numerous small metallic flecks on the surface of these areas may be the result of mica mixed in with the stain.
The stool is complete, with a minor crack and some stains across the seat top, and a few hairline cracks in the foot, along with some surface damage.
It is 210 mm high, with a seat diameter of 310 by 308 mm and thickness of 24.5 mm; the handle grip hole is 92 mm long and 23 mm wide; the fenestration in the pedestal is 73 mm tall and 65.5 mm wide, while the base has a diameter of 269 by 265 mm and is 23.5 mm thick.
Probably collected by Evans-Pritchard himself during his fieldwork amongst the Zande, which took place during 1927, part of 1928 and 1929 and for several months during 1930. For similar Zande stools, see also 1970.38.10-11, and 1948.2.139 (with a solid pedestal), also collected by Evans-Pritchard.
Evans-Pritchard photographed a similar type of stool being manufactured by the Zande woodworker Kisanga - see the photographic archives, accession numbers 1998.341.22, 1998.341.79, 1998.341.316 and 1998.341.319 where a nearly completed stool is being stained by applying a liquid to it from a clay pot boiling on a fire, showing that, unlike some of the wooden bowls, stools were stained by the craftsman, not the subsequent owner. Other images show Kisanga using an adze to carve out the wood (e.g.: 1998.341.27, although in this case the stool has a square top - either because it is unfinished, or because it is a slightly different form). This type of stool also appears in images 1998.341.152, 1998.341.185 and 1998.341.502, and being sat on by men in 1998.341.206 and 1998.341.211.
Larken describes these stools as follows: "Solid wood… is employed in the manufacture of the stools, mbata , which are made after the fashion of this dish [a circular dish on a pedestal stem, sometimes pierced, with round base]; the seat is slightly hollowed so that there is a flat raised rim at the circumference, and is usually pierced so that it may be hung up by a cord out of the way of white ants. Such stools are about a foot in height, or rather more, the diameter being the same, though bigger ones are not uncommon … sections of logs … must be used for the standing dishes, stools and mortars." (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, p. 132).
This style of object seems to be produced also by the Mangbetu, called nobarra, and carved by male craftsmen. These stools were used by Mangbetu women, who sometimes passed a carrying strap around the top of the pedestal and through the hand grip, with the strap either going across the forehead so the stool could hang down their back, or over one shoulder (see E. Schildkrout & C.A. Keim, 1990, African Reflections , pp 119-121, fig. 6.25, and photos showing these stools in use, figure 7.3 and 7.5).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
Probably collected by Evans-Pritchard himself during his fieldwork amongst the Zande, which took place during 1927, part of 1928 and 1929 and for several months during 1930. For similar Zande stools, see also 1970.38.10-11, and 1948.2.139 (with a solid pedestal), also collected by Evans-Pritchard.
Evans-Pritchard photographed a similar type of stool being manufactured by the Zande woodworker Kisanga - see the photographic archives, accession numbers 1998.341.22, 1998.341.79, 1998.341.316 and 1998.341.319 where a nearly completed stool is being stained by applying a liquid to it from a clay pot boiling on a fire, showing that, unlike some of the wooden bowls, stools were stained by the craftsman, not the subsequent owner. Other images show Kisanga using an adze to carve out the wood (e.g.: 1998.341.27, although in this case the stool has a square top - either because it is unfinished, or because it is a slightly different form). This type of stool also appears in images 1998.341.152, 1998.341.185 and 1998.341.502, and being sat on by men in 1998.341.206 and 1998.341.211.
Larken describes these stools as follows: "Solid wood… is employed in the manufacture of the stools, mbata , which are made after the fashion of this dish [a circular dish on a pedestal stem, sometimes pierced, with round base]; the seat is slightly hollowed so that there is a flat raised rim at the circumference, and is usually pierced so that it may be hung up by a cord out of the way of white ants. Such stools are about a foot in height, or rather more, the diameter being the same, though bigger ones are not uncommon … sections of logs … must be used for the standing dishes, stools and mortars." (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, p. 132).
This style of object seems to be produced also by the Mangbetu, called nobarra, and carved by male craftsmen. These stools were used by Mangbetu women, who sometimes passed a carrying strap around the top of the pedestal and through the hand grip, with the strap either going across the forehead so the stool could hang down their back, or over one shoulder (see E. Schildkrout & C.A. Keim, 1990, African Reflections , pp 119-121, fig. 6.25, and photos showing these stools in use, figure 7.3 and 7.5).
Rachael Sparks 23/08/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
264] - E.
E.
EVANS-PRITCHARD, INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY, OXFORD.
Found unentered; collected by donor.
[p, 266] 1948.2.138 - ZANDE.
Flat topped wooden
platter
[insert] stool [end insert] 12" across, on a circular plinth and base.
Plain.
Height 8".
Additional Accession Book Entry [page opposite 266] - 1948.1.138 Identified as stool by donor (10.10.58).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 10/2/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, ZANDE. Wooden stool with fenestrated pedestal foot. d.d. E.E. Evans-Pritchard. Found unentered Feb. 1948. 1948.2.138 [plastic coated tag, tied to object; RTS 9/4/2005].
Written on object - ZANDE [pencil]; Zande [pencil]; ZANDE. 1948.2.138. d.d. EVANS-PRITCHARD [ink; RTS 9/4/2005].
Additional Accession Book Entry [page opposite 266] - 1948.1.138 Identified as stool by donor (10.10.58).
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 10/2/2004].
Pitt Rivers Museum label - AFRICA, Sudan, ZANDE. Wooden stool with fenestrated pedestal foot. d.d. E.E. Evans-Pritchard. Found unentered Feb. 1948. 1948.2.138 [plastic coated tag, tied to object; RTS 9/4/2005].
Written on object - ZANDE [pencil]; Zande [pencil]; ZANDE. 1948.2.138. d.d. EVANS-PRITCHARD [ink; RTS 9/4/2005].
