GothamGallery Fine African Art - DRC Tabwa Stool Start Price USD 1,250.00 Current Price USD 1,250.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, September 24, 2008 End Time Friday, October 24, 2008 Location NYC See more about 'GothamGallery Fine African Art - DRC Tabwa Stool' Description   Offering the Finest Quality Sub-Saharan African Art   Wonderful African DRC Tabwa Anthropomorphic Stool   Measurement:        Height: 30 Width: 12.5 Depth: 12.25 Inches Measurement:        Height: 77 Width: 32 Depth: 31 Centimeters                               Measurement Stool OnlyMaterial:                Wood, Beads Estimated Age:       Early 20th Century Condition:             Very Good Remarks:               Highly stylized stool supported by female figure brown patina Shipping:               US East Coast - Estimated $35.00                               Exact rate use shipping calculator INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS WELCOME   CONDITIONWorn areas, chips and scrapes, age cracks, tribal repair to top of seating area, overall condition very good. Thank you and please view my other items. BACKGROUND Tabwa occupy the west coast of Lake Tanganyika and some part of the northeastern Zambia. They are led by chiefs-sorcerers who rule over village chiefs and family chiefs. Traditionally, Tabwa people made their living from hunting and blacksmithing. Nowadays they cultivate millet, manioc, and corn, but they live primarily off fishing and hunting. The Tabwa carved wooden figures to represent ancestors, great shamanistic healers and earth spirits. Called Mipasi or Mikisi, such figures were kept by lineage elders in special buildings within their components, where the elders sometimes slept to receive ancestral inspiration in their dreams. The figures had powers to heal and protect. The Mipasi might be placed near a sick person, or at the entrance to the village as a silent sentinel. They might be deployed in litigation, to ensure that a defendant told the truth, or placed near forges of a blacksmith or on hunting shrines, to keep evil forces from disrupting the processes of work. Painter Fred Uhlman words - Most of the artists I admired, Picasso, Modigliani, Deraini, to mention only a few, had collected African art and had been profoundly influenced by it. Shortly afterwards I bought the Baule Fetish and the Baule bobbin which are still two of the finest pieces in my collection. It is easy to see why I bought them and why from that moment I have never stopped collecting. The head of the bobbin or heddle - pulley which is after all only a functional object for the purpose of weaving seemed to me then and today as beautiful as a Greek goddess. The fetish moved me as deeply as the bobbin by its silent tragic dignity and its air of profound meditation. GUARANTEEAUTHENTICITY AND CONDITION OF ITEMS ARE GUARANTEE TO THEIR DESCRIPTION. IF THE ITEM IS FOUND TO BE NOT AS DESCRIBED OR PICTURED, FULL REIMBURSEMENT OF THE WINNING BID AMOUNT AND SHIPPING CHARGE WILL BE GIVEN.QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, OR MORE DETAIL PICTURES. EMAIL:GOTHAMGALLERY@AOL.COMSHIPPINGSHIPPING VIA USPS PRIORITY MAIL UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING COST PLEASE INQUIRE.PAYMENTPAYMENT ACCEPTED, PAYPAL, MONEY ORDER, CERTIFIED CHECK, PERSONAL CHECK 5 TO 7 DAYS TO CLEAR. OTHER FORMS OF PAYMENT PLEASE INQUIRE FIRST. Please click and check store items GothamGallery Fine African Art 　 PLEASE NOTE GOTHAMGALLERY DOES NOT SEND SECOND CHANCE OFFER COMMUNICATION WILL BE VIA ebay SYSTEM ONLY PLEASE BE CAREFUL OF SCAMS Place a Bid!