The traditional sculpted stools of the Ashanti
people are still widely used in most households. It is
through these stools that the Ashanti communicate with
their ancestors. For the Ashanti the stool is the central
object in their spiritual lives. Ancestral stool temples and
shrines are the customary places of communal worship.
As these stools are sacred objects, it is an exceptional
honor when an Ashanti carver is commissioned to make
one.The symbols in the carving convey messages, and the
stool will eventually house the spirit of the owner. The
curvature of the seat is known as the mother's embrace.
The type of stool matches the status of the patron.
Sankofa means “to retrieve" or to "go back and get" represented by a bird with its head turned backwards while its feet face forward. Sankofa is often associated with the proverb, "It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten."
If you don't know your past, you won't know your future.
The sankofa bird represents the need to reflect on the past to build a successful future.
Dimensions: 17 1/2" height x 23 ¼"in length x 10 3/4" depth.
The seat height is 14 ½".
