A carved head of stone from the Bamileke of Cameroon, shown with a second, smaller stone piece. The collection catalogue records it as coming from Mayap village, near Bafia.

1. Form

The head is a broad, tapering shape, wide at the brow and narrowing toward the chin. A cap or coiffure sits across the top, divided by radiating ribs and bordered by a raised, curved band above the forehead. The eyes are set in large rounded outlines with a finely notched upper edge, the nose is a heavy, straight ridge, and the mouth is a shallow incised line near the base of the face. The carving is plain and compact, with the features pressed into the surface rather than modelled in the round.

2. Surface

The stone is worn and rough, in warm reddish and earthy browns, darker across the cap and brow, with small pits and mineral flecks across the face. The smaller piece shown beside it is of similar tone, an irregular, tapering stone with a shallow hollow on one face.

3. Context

The collection catalogue designates the piece a ritual stone, lists it with two related stones from the same village, and refers to a comparable piece in the collection.

Summary

A Bamileke ritual stone carved as a head with a ribbed cap and ringed eyes, from Mayap village near Bafia, Cameroon.