© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

ClassificationsAfrican Art

Pipe

Place CreatedCameroon, Africa

CultureBamileke/Eastern Bangwa

Datelate 19th-early 20th Century

MediumTerracotta, wood, iron

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions22 9/16 x 2 7/8 x 2 15/16 in. (57.3 x 7.3 x 7.5 cm)

Object number1994.004.374

Label TextTobacco smoking is a popular pastime of both men and women in northwestern Cameroon. The type and style of pipe exhibited in public indicates the social status and totem affiliation of its owner. The modeling of Bamileke pipes often includes figurative attachments and ranges in decoration from a plain, simple structure that is used on a daily basis to elaborate embellishments that are reserved for pipes used by a royal lineage or during a ceremonial occasion. To function properly, a pipe combines clay, wood, and interior metal tubing. The way in which the artist chooses to decorate his pipe often reflects historical and social transformation in the Grassfields. The use of a figurative design fashioned around the pipe's bowl is very common and often refers to a prayer for the abundance of tobacco and children. While this pipe shows signs of wear, it can still be recognized as Bamileke in origin due to its characteristic high firing and black glaze. The bowl depicts a high ranking Bamileke elder or possibly even the king (fon) who supports his head with both his hands in a gesture of contemplation. This same bowl figure with varying arm position is frequently found in the Bamileke region and Bangangte Market near Bangwa.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 1, December 15, 1995 - February 1997
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 2, February 1997 - July 1998
Spirited Vessels: Creation and Ritual in African Ceramics, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 7 - April 11, 2004

ProvenanceEx coll. William S. Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia.

Status

Not on view

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