Name/Title
Dahomey throneEntry/Object ID
MK_0437Description
This exquisitely crafted hardwood speaker’s stool or throne, was carved in the 19th century in the Dahomey Kingdom, which now makes up present-day Benin.
Tracing its roots back to the early 17th century, the Dahomey Kingdom became a regional power in the 18th and 19th centuries, after it expanded to occupy coastal provinces in west Africa with the help of feirce female warriors that later went on become the kings guards (the Europeans called these warriors Amazons, after the Greek myths). With control of these key ports, it thrived off the sale of slaves to Europeans, becoming a major centre for the Atlantic Slave Trade until the British imposed a naval blockade to stop the trade in the mid-19th century. Less than half a century later, following the two-year Franco-Dahomey war, the French colonised the country and dissolved the monarchy.
But this artefact tells the story of highly stratified and often violent socio-cultural system that was in place prior to the kingdom's collapse. The Dahomey Kingdom was governed by a form of absolute monarchy unique to Africa at the time: a king, surrounded by a grand entourage, governed with complete authority. He was the unchallenged pinnacle of a rigid class system that cascaded from royalty, to commonners, to slaves.
This speakers stool, or throne, is an essential symbol of that authority - a marker of the power of an unquestionable ruler. Every detail is meticulously crafted for royalty: from the curved seat carefully carved with an intricate diamond pattern, to the openwork body with latticework panels, even to the lightly stepped base. This stool was likely one of a number the king at the time used for the most important ceremonies.
Despite its collapse in the late 19th century, the royal families and key administrative leaders of the Dahomey Kingdom continued to have an impact on the region's politics, both under French rule and when the country gained independence more than 75 years later, and was renamed Benin. This stool therefore offers a glimpse into a crucial part of Benin's history, and the residual impact that the Dahomey Kingdom still has on the region today.
This treasured piece has been in the Mauna Kea's collection since 1965, when Laurance Rockefeller developed the hotel, and was very recently restored.Made/Created
Time Period
19th CenturyPlace
Region
West AfricaContinent
AfricaDimensions
Height
25-3/4 inWidth
9-1/2 inLength
19-3/4 inLocation
Area
6th Floor AtriumFloor
6th FloorBuilding
Main TowerRoom
2nd Floor Art Storage RoomFloor
2nd FloorBuilding
Beach WingRoom
Kamani RoomBuilding
HBR Main TowerRoom
2nd Floor Art Storage RoomFloor
2nd FloorBuilding
Beach WingFloor
6th FloorBuilding
Main Tower