BAMUM Throne Stool (German-Medal-Emulation Plating — Njimem Chiefdom)
A wooden stool featuring caryatid supporting figures, entirely covered in a distinct, thin, geometric sheet-metal plating utilizing contrasting colors and shapes.
1. Aesthetic Style and Colonial Skeuomorphism
This fascinating throne stool from the Njimem Chiefdom represents a brilliant, adaptive moment in Bamum art history. While the underlying wooden structure utilizes the traditional Grassfields caryatid form, the exterior is covered in highly unusual, thin, geometric brass and copper plating. As noted by the curator, this colorful, eye-catching geometric design is a direct abstraction and emulation of the medals and uniforms worn by German colonial officers. The Bamum artist brilliantly co-opted the visual language of the foreign colonizers, applying it to a traditional African throne to synthesize a new, modern aura of absolute authority.
2. Ritual Function and the Myth of the Racing Brothers
This throne is deeply tied to the specific, turbulent founding mythology of the Njimem dynasty (dating back to the 14th century). According to the murals in the audience chamber, two brothers fought for the throne and agreed to a footrace to a large stone to decide the victor. One brother cheated by having his supporters grab the other's loincloth, winning the race and taking power through a coup. This throne, attributed to the current chief's highly active grandfather, serves as the physical, enduring seat of that fiercely contested power, continually reminding the clan of the cunning and ruthlessness required to rule.
3. Patina, Material Weathering, and Age Verification
The metal plating on this stool perfectly validates its attribution to the late 19th/early 20th-century German colonial period. The thin sheet metal exhibits authentic oxidation, with green verdigris forming along the overlapping seams and the small pins holding the metal to the wood. The seat of the stool is heavily polished, where the friction of the chief's garments has worn the geometric plating completely smooth, providing undeniable evidence of a lifetime of active ceremonial use by the reigning grandfather.
Summary
This throne stool is a spectacular historical document that physically bridges ancient Bamum succession myths with the visual influence of German colonialism. Its highly unique geometric plating makes it a masterpiece of adaptive Grassfields political art.
