Stem of a prestige pipe ·  Cameroon Grassfields, Bamum · ID: 3040435

Description

wood, greyish brown paint, carved with human and animal icons all over (elephant head, crocodile, spider motif), originally seathed with nickel or tinfoil (still present in residues), slightly dam., missing parts, tinfoil and paint chipped off in parts;
wooden stems were matched with pipe bowls from terracotta. As regalia of Fons and title-holders, such pipes were indispensable personal prestige items and were displayed as status indicators on ceremonial occasions.

Comparing literature

Northern, Tamara, The Art of Cameroon, Washington D.C. 1984, p. 120 ff.