# Altar Stool

- By: Yoruba (Yoruba; Nigeria; Coastal West Africa)
- Date: Mid–/late 19th century
- Medium: Wood and pigment
- Classification: Furniture
- Dimensions: 40 × 34.3 cm (15 3/4 × 13 1/2 in.)
- Culture: Nigeria
- Credit line: Purchased with funds provided by Jamee and Marshall Field, and Mrs. Stanley M. Freehling; Laura T. Magnuson Endowment
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/159842)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/8b210856-16c6-671d-fbb0-dd3d841b1869/full/!1739,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

A sculptural tour-de-force, this stool was made for an altar dedicated to the deity Sango. At its center is a Sango priest—identifiable by his double-bladed staff and cape covered in cowrie shells—and a woman who reclines before him in a formal greeting. Moving clockwise, they are encircled by a man playing a drum; two women devotees, one of whom is holding a chicken for sacrifice; a rifle-toting soldier leading a bound captive; and a woman holding a large offering bowl. The motif of the soldier and captive, which also appears on the adjacent Esu dance staff by the same artist \[see 1991.396\], reflects the violent invasions that marked the era.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0