This stool is from Zimbabwe from a Ndbele village. Ndebele people are an ethnic group in southern Africa.
Small wooden stools like this are used in everyday life. This one has a simple and elegant design and is carved from local wood.
Some of the more complex ones, are supported by figures representing ancestors, and were originally symbols of authority for the elders. These ones were not used as stools. Stools which have a post in the middle are connected to Batonga mythology. The Tonga people are a group of people from Zambia and Zimbabwe. The seat of the stool represents heaven, the base represents the earth, and the post represents a tree, which links heaven and earth.