Bamum (Bamoum, Bamoun, Banun, Mom, Mum), Cameroon

Royal smoking pipe. There are about 80,000 Bamum people. The art of Bamum is in a great part the art of a royal court that had a complex protocol and numerous rituals. The fon and his court is a focal point of the Bamum, and exert powerful influence upon the development of the plastic art that tends towards dramatization, power and sumptuous luxury. Tobacco pipes with long wooden stems are prestige items in the Cameroon Grassland. As regalia of Fons and title holders, they were indispensable personal prestige items, cared for, carried after their owners by retainers, and displayed as status indicators on ceremonial occasions. The size and decoration of pipes were regulated by a strict code, according to the owner’s rank and wealth. The king had to smoke the pipe not only in the palace, but when he traveled among the people, because the smoking of it was regarded as a rite that would make both the fields and the women fertile. The animal motif including the elephant head suggests that the owner belonged to a secret society or had totemic links with the animal represented. The art of smoking was a vital part of royal ritual.

Material: wood and metal sheeting

Size: H. 34”, W. 9”, D. 12”

Price: $350+$49 (S&H)                                                                 [#M3B9O237]