Among the impressive art forms produced by Bamileke artists are monumental ceremonial thrones that incorporate figurative sculpture in the round. In the chiefdoms of Cameroon's grassfields region, a new leader rarely used the seat of office of his predecessor but instead commissioned his own. Special rituals surrounded his installation and the throne itself often received annual ritual treatments. Such works were displayed ceremonially on the occasion of state visits, an annual dance, and the king's funeral. This extraordinary throne was documented at Bansoa by Pierre Harter in 1957. The back edge of its circular seat features two freestanding figures that have been identified as the king and a royal wife.

This royal couple is depicted with a series of insignia of their exalted status. The king holds a drinking horn and wears a prestige cap, a loincloth held by a leopard skin belt, bracelets, and a necklace. His wife indicates her allegiance to him by holding a calabash from which to serve him palm wine. They stand upon a platform supported by a leopard, an emblem of the king's formidable power. The work's brilliantly colored beaded surface is further enlivened by abstract two-dimensional graphic motifs, including lozenges that represent schematized frogs, a symbol of fertility and abundance. A luxury material obtained through long-distance trade, beads were the sole prerogative of the ruling elite and their lavish use was the ultimate statement concerning prosperity.