About this artwork
Among the Asante and related peoples of Ghana, stools belong to individuals and their iconography has personal, cultural, and political significance. Simple stools typically serve quotidian needs, while more elaborate stools are reserved for community leaders, chiefs, and office-holders. This work features a man chopping cocoa pods from a tree–a reference to Ghana’s thriving agricultural economy in the early to mid-20th century. Today, cocoa production in Ghana symbolizes the entrepreneurial spirit of early twentieth century West Africans who, with little help from the colonial government, established a flourishing cash crop through their own enterprise, capital, technology, and skill. This stool is sculpted from a single piece of wood and depicts a highly refined figure removing the ripe red and yellow cocoa pods from the tree. The smooth surface of the sculpture, in addition to its clean lines, reveals a modern sensibility towards the expression of West African ingenuity.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of Africa
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Culture
- Asante
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Title
- Stool with Cocoa-Pod Harvester
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Place
- Ghana (Object made in:)
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Date
- 1900–1999
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Medium
- Wood and pigment
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Dimensions
- 45.7 × 55.9 × 27.9 cm (18 × 22 1/2 × 11 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Jane Stroud Wright
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Reference Number
- 2014.1182
Extended information about this artwork
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.
