Trumpet ·  Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke · ID: 3037877

Description

ivory, honey brown patina, remains of pigments, leather cuff at the bottom, the upper half richly adorned with zoomorphic (tortoises?) and floral motifs, partly in open work design, crowned by a janus head with tribe-typical facial features, min. dam., small missing parts, fine cracks through age, base;
ivory trumpets belonged to the regal inventory ever since, just as the king had the constitutional right on possession of the teeth of hunted elephants. The trumpets were used to announce the arrival of the king and during audience they were placed to the ground in front of the chief’s feet. They were kept in the royal shrine, together with ancestor skulls and figures.