Oracle stool - Tanzania
25" tall x 8" wide
wood, animal skin, beads, cowry shells, rope, pigment
Currently being offered on eBay $350
Small stools such as this were used by an oracle to communicate with the ancestors. Gourds with
anthropomorphic stoppers/dippers were sometimes placed on top of a small stool to serve as an
ancestor figure. For examples of these stools and gourds, see the book "Mwana Hiti" by Marc Felix.
Despite its appearance, I believe the stool was most likely made specifically for the collecting market.
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