Accession Number
1987/1.345

Title
Pipe

Artist(s)

Object Creation Date
1900-1987

Medium & Support
wood and metal

Dimensions
16 13/16 in x 2 in x 5 1/8 in (42.7 cm x 5.08 cm x 13.02 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Douglas and Mary Kelley

Subject matter
Throughout the Grassfields region of Cameroon, material culture acted as a signifier of a person’s place within the social hierarchy that many kingdoms in this area share. The king, in some kingdoms called the fon, had control over what motifs or symbols could be used on different objects, such as pipes, by certain classes of people.

Both men and women often smoked, although the everyday use of plain tobacco pipes declined after World War II when cigarettes became increasingly popular. Prestige pipes with human and animal images, however, were and still remain status symbols. Artisans from northwestern areas such as Bamessing, Babungo, and Babessi crafted highly decorated pipes from terra cotta, wood, metal, as well as ivory. Brass obtained through trade was used to make pipes exclusively for the king or fon through the lost-wax casting method.
Based on the pose of the figure, with its hands tucked underneath the chin, it may depict a retainer of a royal court. Perhaps the past owner of this pipe was a high status member of the community? 

References Cited:
Gebauer, Paul. 1972. "Cameroon Tobacco Pipes." African Arts 5, no. 2: 28-35.
___________. 1979. Art of Cameroon. Portland, Or.: Portland Art Association.
Homberger, L. 2008. Cameroon: Art and Kings. Zürich: Museum Rietberg.
Northern, Tamara. 1984. The Art of Cameroon. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
Page, Donna. 2007. A Cameroon World: Art and Artifacts from the Caroline and Marshall Mount Collection. New York: QCC Art Gallery Press.

Physical Description
A carved wooden pipe bowl attached to a long, narrow metal pipe stem. The pipe bowl is in the form of a standing human figure with both hands tucked underneath the chin. 

Primary Object Classification
Personal Accessory

Primary Object Type
pipe

Collection Area
African

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Figures
Objects We Use
pipes
pipes (smoking equipment)
prestige
royalty (nobility)
smoking (activity)
social status
symbols of office or status
wealth