This stool closely resembles the form of the traditional Benin ceremonial stool known as Agba. They were usually produced by carvers in Omada, the association of young men who served the Oba as palace pages and sword bearers and who carved in their spare time. The tops and legs tend to be intricately carved with scenes from Benin history, palace ceremonies and traditional Benin motifs. Two examples from the second half of the nineteenth century are in the Perls collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This example, with the inclusion of two European figures viewing the ceremony, probably dates from the early twentieth century. See Kate Ezra, Royal art of Benin: The Perls collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, pp.263-270.