Ethiopian Child's Chair with Plaited Leather Seat

Hide strips, woven open, lashed around the rails. The comfort here is old engineering.

Low chairs with high arched backs carved from a single piece of wood are a familiar Ethiopian form, and seats strung with strips of hide made them light, sturdy and comfortable for daily use. This child’s chair, made in the 20th century, has a back that rises in a tall pointed arch whose two arms continue down to become the rear legs. Two simple legs stand at the front. The seat is woven in an open crisscross lattice.

The wood has a deep reddish-brown patina, darker and smoother where hands gripped the arch, with old cracks and wear. A small person sat here. The chair kept its shape.