A cast brass ceremonial bell, 55 cm high, from the Mayap chiefdom in the Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon. A human head with an open mouth crowns the bell, and its neck is wrapped in red cloth.

1. Form

The body of the bell flares downwards in a tall cone. Its surface is left as bare metal and carries a column of small face medallions and areas of openwork. Above it, the neck is tightly wrapped in thick red cloth, which continues as a long strap trailing down past the base. At the top sits a human head with strongly modelled features and an open mouth.

2. Use and Context

The collection catalogue describes a closely related bell from the same chiefdom. Although the people of Mayap are Bamum, the faces on such bells show the influence of their Tikar neighbours, and the catalogue considers it entirely possible that the bells were cast by Tikar craftsmen, who had developed casting much further. On very special occasions a servant walked in front of the chief and struck the bell with a wooden stick.

3. Surface

The metal is dark, with greenish tones in the recesses of the casting. The red cloth has kept its colour and shows some dust and slight fraying.

Summary

A Bamum ceremonial bell from Mayap, once struck before the chief on special occasions.