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Stool

Tellem civilization

11th–14th century

Not on view

What little is known of Tellem society is based on the contents of remote chambers of Bandiagara necropoli, or collective burial sites. Tellem residents of villages located at the foot of the high cliff in the Séno plain went to great lengths to hoist up and deposit their dead for safeguarding within its caves, along with precious possessions and agricultural reserves. Among the items of adornment recovered are cylindrical quartz plugs worn in the lip, nose, and ears and beads made of glass, quartz, and carnelian. Other intimate possessions that accompanied their owners into the afterlife include headrests and stools.

Stool, Wood, Tellem civilization — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Stool

Date: 11th–14th century

Geography: Mali

Culture: Tellem civilization

Medium: Wood

Dimensions: H. 2 1/4 × W. 6 3/4 × D. 6 1/8 in. (5.7 × 17.1 × 15.5 cm)

Classification: Wood-Furniture

Credit Line: Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, Paris

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.