This is my interpretation of a Tanzanian Throne Chair.

It was built for a fund raising charity auction for the CPPS Precious Blood missionaries who do work in Tanzania building schools and water wells. Friends, who volunteer each year to help with the work in Tanzania, brought some small pieces of ebony back with them from their 2011 trip to Tanzania. I agreed to build a chair for the 2012 charity auction.

A Tanzanian throne chair is one of many styles of African thrones. The throne was an important piece of communal property taken out for important rituals and ceremonies. Thrones were used when a new chief was initiated, by the chief at important functions or when sitting in judgement.

My chair is made from ash and ebony.  This chair shares many of the elements of the Tanzanian throne chair. It has three legs and a rounded and carved seat. The curved shape of the legs is similar to many of the chairs I have seen. The chair is decorated with ebony inlays and an ebony carving. Instead of carving the typical triangle and diamond shaped patterns into the chair, I used the ebony inlays to represent these shapes.The carved ebony head, the major decorative element of the chair, is nestled in an oval frame which is part of the chair back. 

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