Buli workshop
Caryatid stool
Africa, D. R. Congo, Kingdom Luba
Late 19th century
Wood, carved, blackened
Hermann Schuller (colonial administrator) appropriated the stool during his stay in the former colony “German East Africa” from 1882
Donation to the museum by Schuller in 1900
MAf 2667
Luba persons who are perceived as female play an important role for their community, evident in their representation in numerous works of art. For example, this stool, attributed to the so-called Buli style, depicts a kneeling female figure as a carrier. The stool was probably made for a chief but was not intended as a seat but as a symbol of power and a reminder of the past.
Figures interpreted as female were usually depicted as sisters or ancestors of chiefs. Although often operating in the shadows, women played important roles in politics, whether as advisors, ambassadors, emissaries, or community leaders.
In addition, women are associated with great spiritual powers among the Luba and, therefore, they are essential in mediating between this world and the next.
Serving as head of the German East Africa Society in Bagamoyo (present-day Tanzania) after 1882, Hermann Schuller appropriated this stool from the Manyema, who lived by Lake Tanganyika at the time. Under their leader, Tipi Tip, they repeatedly invaded the territory of the neighboring Luba, which is probably how they came into possession of this stool.
Stefanie Bach