A prestige pipe of the Bamum from the Mabouo chiefdom in the Cameroon Grassland. A small bowl with relief bands is joined to a pale, waisted stem, from which a thin metal rod rises.

1. Form and Construction

The pipe is assembled from three parts. The bowl sits at the lower end, set at an angle to the stem and braced by a small loop-shaped strut. Its surface is divided into bands: fine ridged rings at the base and shoulder, and on the bowl itself raised, head-like forms and a rim of small beads. The collection catalogue describes the pipe as bronze.

Above the bowl, bound to it with a thin thread, rises a stem of a pale, smooth material in an hourglass shape, wide at the ends and narrow at the waist. A thin, straight metal rod emerges from its upper end and rises well above it.

2. Use and Context

According to the collection catalogue, the Mabouo chiefdom can be reached only on foot and is not large or, by comparison, of particular importance. For that reason prestige figures and prestige pipes mattered to its chief, since they allowed him to show the outside world that he too could display fine objects. Prestige figures and pipes serve above all to demonstrate a chief's wealth and power, and they are usually placed in his audience or reception room.

3. Surface

The bowl is dark brown with a worn, slightly mottled surface and small areas of lighter wear along the raised bands. The stem is pale and mottled, with a fine, porous texture, and the rod is dark and slender.

Summary

A small prestige pipe that combines a relief-decorated bowl with a pale waisted stem, made to show the standing of a modest chiefdom.