Model Pipe Bowl: Figure

Unknown

19th–20th century · Terracotta · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Pipe-makers in Bamessing kept examples of their most popular designs for their apprentices to study. This early model, collected by renowned Tungo artist Tita Yuefainji, depicts a Grassfields ruler. His outsized head features the pronounced cheeks, eyes, and brow commonly found on helmet crests from the region. Diminutive hands grasp either side of his mouth in a variation of the classical hand-to-chin gesture. The stool upon which its subject is seated doubles as a base for the pipe.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th–20th century

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Bamessing

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1972