Palace pillar with male figures and leopard
This pillar featured within an intricate network of jambs, posts, and beams that once composed a Grassfields palace. It is carved with depictions of leopards, potent symbols of sovereignty throughout the Grassfields. There the fon (ruler) holds sole claim to the pelt of any leopard hunted within his domain. As palaces are made from woven bamboo and other vulnerable organic materials, they require regular renewal. During a 1933 renovation of royal complex at Kedjom Keku (Big Babanki), this and two other related works were acquired by German American missionary Paul Gebauer and his wife, Clara.
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