by Chris Dodge

An unusual chair currently tours Great Britain. Look carefully and you’ll see its constituent parts: Portuguese rifles and Russian AK-47s collected after Mozambique’s 16-year civil war ended in 1992. Throne of Weapons, by an artist named Kester, is one of dozens of sculptures made from firearms by members of the Maputo, Mozambique-based collective Nœcleo de Arte. Purchased by the British Museum in 2002, the piece lately has gone around to British museums, galleries, schools, and even a prison.

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This article originally appeared in Utne Magazine's July/August 2006 issue. To read the entire article, visit: http://www.utne.com/pub/2006_136/promo/12156-1.html.