chair;
sculpture
- Museum number
- Af2002,01.1
- Title
- Object: Throne of Weapons
- Description
-
A chair made out of parts of rifles (mainly AK47s) and other weapons welded together.
- Production date
- 2001
- Dimensions
-
Height: 101 centimetres
-
Weight: 115 kilograms
-
Width: 66 centimetres
-
Depth: 80 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- The throne is a product of the TAE project - Transformaçaõ de Armas em Enxadas (Transforming Arms into Tools) - whereby weapons previously used by combatants on both sides are voluntarily exchanged for agricultural, domestic and construction tools. The project was established in 1995 in Maputo by Bishop Dinis Sengulane of the Christian Council of Mozambique with the support of Christian Aid.
The components of the throne to some extent reflect the international arms trade, though guns from all over the world, including the Western powers, are collected by the TAE team. The principal feature is the Russian AK47 rifle but there are also sections from Eastern European, Portuguese and North Korean guns. The throne has an added significance in Africa where carved stools and chairs are symbols of power and prestige. Examples from Ghana, the Congo and Zanzibar, for example, may be seen in the African collections of the British Museum.
N. MacGregor, 'The British Museum', ICOM News, no. 1 (2004)
C. Spring, 'Tree of Life', British Museum Magazine-1, no. 51 (Spring 2005)
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2009 1 May-20 Sep, Victoria, Royal BC Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures
2010-2011, London, BM/BBC, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2011 22 Oct-2012 22 Feb, Perth, Western Australia Museum, Commonwealth Exhibition
2017-2018, 10 Nov 2017 - 18 Feb 2018, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai, India, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories
2018, 6 May- 30 June, National Museum, New Delhi, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories
- Condition
- Good, though may need some attention to the welding, especially on one of the arms
- Acquisition date
- 2002
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af2002,01.1
