GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The introduction of tobacco to sub-Saharan Africa in the 17th century inspired the creation of new prestige objects and leadership rituals. In the highly stratified Bamum Kingdom, which reached its peak in the 19th century, both men and women smoked tobacco in pipes befitting their social status.
This pipe bowl is modeled in the form of a man’s head with puffed cheeks and an openwork headdress with a motif of faces. Although the puffed cheeks can also be found on Bamum masks, they probably give the heavy pipe bowl stability. Originally, the bowl would have had a brass or carved wood stem decorated with colorful beadwork. Though both men and women were potters in Bamum society, the largest and most elaborately decorated pipes were made by male court ceramists for the king (fon) and smoked on important ceremonial occasions “as a visual attribute of royal might.”
Adapted from
- Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.
- Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 94.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1960s: Private collection, France
n.d.: Cooner Collection, Dallas
1999: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Joel Coooner Gallery, Dallas
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the copy of the fax transmission from Joel Cooner Gallery dated February 1, 1999 in the Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
King Njoya around 1922, 68290323: UMO
WEB RESOURCES
- University of Iowa, Art & Life in Africa~Read an essay about life in the Cameroon Grasslands.
- University of Iowa Museum of Art, Art & Life in Africa~Learn more about pottery in Africa.
- University of Iowa Museum of Art, Art & Life in Africa~Read more about drinking and smoking in African cultures.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 1999.60
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General Description
The introduction of tobacco to sub-Saharan Africa in the 17th century inspired the creation of new prestige objects and leadership rituals. In the highly stratified Bamum Kingdom, which reached its peak in the 19th century, both men and women smoked tobacco in pipes befitting their social status.
This pipe bowl is modeled in the form of a man’s head with puffed cheeks and an openwork headdress with a motif of faces. Although the puffed cheeks can also be found on Bamum masks, they probably give the heavy pipe bowl stability. Originally, the bowl would have had a brass or carved wood stem decorated with colorful beadwork. Though both men and women were potters in Bamum society, the largest and most elaborately decorated pipes were made by male court ceramists for the king (fon) and smoked on important ceremonial occasions “as a visual attribute of royal might.”
Adapted from
- Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.
- Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 94.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- University of Iowa, Art & Life in Africa~Read an essay about life in the Cameroon Grasslands.
- University of Iowa Museum of Art, Art & Life in Africa~Learn more about pottery in Africa.
- University of Iowa Museum of Art, Art & Life in Africa~Read more about drinking and smoking in African cultures.
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1960s: Private collection, France
n.d.: Cooner Collection, Dallas
1999: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Joel Coooner Gallery, Dallas
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the copy of the fax transmission from Joel Cooner Gallery dated February 1, 1999 in the Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1999.60
source file
object_notes_4_a-0231.xml.nores