Prestige pipe bowl
Cameroon Grassfields, Bamum / Bali
not available anymore
Size
H: 15,8 cm
H: 6.2 inch
Description
fired clay, dyed brown, redwood flour, base
The smoking of locally grown tobacco was common in the Grassfields during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Not only men, but also women were addicted to smoking.
Pipes for everyday use were kept simple. More elaborately designed pipe bowls tended to be used by high-ranking men. Some of these pipes served as purely prestigious objects, displayed as status symbols during ceremonial occasions. They were also used during important ceremonies to make contact with the divine supreme beings.