Chair (Chitwamo or Njunga)

Late 19th-early 20th century

Chokwe
Angola
Central Africa

This miniature wooden chair would have been owned and used by a chief or dignitary. Designed for easy transportation, its form and construction derive from 17th-century Portuguese imports. Three-dimensional sculptures on the rungs and on the top of the seatback typically relate to Chokwe everyday life and mythology. The sculpted head that crowns this seatback represents a chihongo mask: a symbol of wealth, virility, and authority.

Status: On View, Gallery 137
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Chokwe
Title: Chair (Chitwamo or Njunga)
Place: Angola (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1875–1925
Medium: Wood, brass tacks, and hide
Dimensions: H.: 50.8 cm (20 in.)
Credit Line: Winter and Hirsch Fund
Reference Number: 1968.789

Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 59, pp. 146-147 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, Africa: Heads of State, Seats of Power, Sept. 2- Nov. 7, 1995, no cat.

Everett D. Rassiga (died 2003), New York, N.Y. [acquisition documentation in curatorial file], by 1968; sold to the Art Institute, 1968.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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