Carved wood with dark patina. The two hemispherical ends visually isolate the central section carved as a naked female body between two stylized faces. The function of these ritual stools still remains rather mysterious although by some it is associated with the rite of circumcision. NOTE - for a comparative piece and for an appropriate description see: Sothebys, NY, 16 May 2013, lot 86. The following description of comparative pieces can be found in the catalogue description: “Apart from the present example, however, only two other Dan stools featuring two masks, one on each side of the central support, are recorded: one published in Liberia: Arts and Crafts (Monrovia: 1971), and a second one at Duke University, also collected in situ by George Harley”.
Provenance: Parisian collection of the painter Arturo Carmassi (Lucca 1925 - Empoli 2015). This piece had come through the inheritance of the collector and humanist Renèe Druart (Grasse 1888 - 1961) whose daughter Carmassi had married.