This is the rating and price for Royal Caryatid Stool Lupona

Description : wood, black shiny patina, plant fibre (tattoos), rest. This stool impresses with the artistically extremely expressive female caryatid figure. Lupona caryatid stools are visual representations of royal power and are considered the most important of all Luba royal insignia of office. They were critical elements in the investiture proceedings of a new ruler. Such a stool was placed on a leopard skin on top of a woven mat, and when the new ruler sat upon the lupona and placed his feet on the pelt, his reign took effect and he was empowered to rule. At that moment, he addressed his public for the first time as mulopwe, or king of the sacred blood, and the lupona became a living incarnation of his rule and domain. Upon installation, lupona stools are no longer considered thrones but are instead said to be seats of power or receptacles that hold the spirits and memories of the current, and deceased kings and chiefs. They are also said to be mnemonic maps of clan migrations, territories and premises of Luba kingdoms. During the reign of a king or chief, his stool was rarely brought out for public viewing, and it would be revealed only during funerals or the investiture of other chiefs and titleholders, or if a great dignitary visited the court. Indeed the stool's sanctity was so great and its power so encompassing that when not in use, it is wrapped in white cloth, stored in a secret location outside of town, and guarded by a designated official. Lieutenant Albert Linke joined the Schutztruppe in German East Africa in May 1902. He was stationed with the 6th Company in Bismarckburg on Lake Tanganyika, where he served for a time as head of the military district. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1907. He retired from the Schutztruppe in 1909 and returned to Germany, where he remained in military service. Albert Linke's stay in German East Africa is documented in a whole series of old black-and-white photographs. A particularly interesting photograph shows the new station in Bismarckburg. You can see a kind of makeshift office with a table, a folding chair and a shelf. In the immediate vicinity is the present stool, apparently used as a kind of side table, next to a deck chair on the floor. On the left a shield and another figure beautify the room and testify to Linkes interest and pleasure in African art. Continent: Africa
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