Chair (Chitwamo or Njunga)

Arts of Africa

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: Currently Off View
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: 51.2 × 24.8 × 28.6 cm (20 1/8 × 9 3/4 × 11 1/4 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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