Stool (No'oanga)
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Graceful stools like this, carved from a single piece of wood, belonged to chiefs; all others sat on the floor. The scalloped corners of the stool occur on only one other known example. This unique detail may have been an original design, a local variation, or perhaps a later cosmetic solution to a chipped edge.
Caption
Cook Islands Maori. Stool (No'oanga), 19th century. Wood, 5 x 16 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (12.7 x 42.5 x 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund and by exchange, 75.78. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Stool (No'oanga)
Date
19th century
Geography
Place made: Atiu, Cook Islands
Medium
Wood
Classification
Dimensions
5 x 16 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (12.7 x 42.5 x 21 cm)
Credit Line
Caroline A.L. Pratt Fund and by exchange
Accession Number
75.78
Frequent Art Questions
Why were these four chairs placed together?
They show a style of seating that was used in various places, during various times and how the idea of a stool evolved. There was also a direct cross-cultural influence of traditional African craft on European modernism in the early 20th century.That display is actually a wonderful example of what "Connecting Cultures" as a whole attempts to convey.
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