Royal Chair (Asipim)

Within Asante society, asipim chairs signal the power and prestige of chiefs, who have the unique right to use them. The asipim’s low profile reflects the Asante preference for stools as seats of honor, while its shape and the decorative use of brass tacks, knobs, and finials document the assimilation of European forms and materials in the 18th and 19th centuries. The finely delineated motifs pressed into the brass covering the back of this chair refer to the owner’s status.