Sculpted caryatide stools serve symbolically as seats of power and sites of memory for deceased kings and chiefs rather than serve as places to sit. Therefore, they are metaphorical, not literal, hearts of kingship. The design of Luba seats of leadership may either be abstract or figurative. Those incorporating female caryatids express the Luba conception of the female body as a spiritual receptacle that supports divine kingship. The aesthetic refinement of the female body through elaborate skin ornamentation serves as a metaphor for the civilization and refinement that Luba rulers disseminate within society.