Pipe Bowl

First half of 20th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 344

The art of the northern savanna is associated with the sumptuous royal courts of the Mangbetu peoples. At its height during the second half of the nineteenth century, Mangbetu aristocrats surrounded themselves with a wide variety of finely crafted boxes, jars, stools, pipes, musical instruments and weapons. This distinctive tradition of anthropomorphic sculpture developed around 1900. Although such forms predate the colonial presence, European patrons greatly increased the demand for them.
Pipes adorned with such elaborately carved tobacco bowls were the prerogative of the Mangbetu ruling aristocracy. This pipe bowl representing a woman, whose body entirely frames the tobacco bowl, was certainly inspired by European examples.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Pipe Bowl
Artist: Mangbetu artist
Date: First half of 20th century
Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uele territory (?)
Culture: Mangbetu peoples
Medium: Wood, pigment, resin(?)
Dimensions: H. 5 × W. 2 1/8 × D. 3 1/8 in. (12.7 × 5.4 × 7.9 cm)
Classification: Wood-Implements
Credit Line: Gift of James J. Ross, 2011
Object Number: 2011.11.11
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

Vessel, Mangbetu artist, Terracotta, slip(?), Mangbetu peoples — Vessel
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Nkisi (power figure), Kongo artist and nganga (ritual specialist), Wood, pigment, resin, iron, brass, tin, cloth, plant fiber cord, beads, cowrie shells, bone or ivory, arrows, leather, seeds, animal horn, Kongo peoples — Nkisi (power figure)
Kongo artist and nganga (ritual specialist)
19th–first half of 20th century

Sextuple Stopped Pipe, Wood, resin, cord, cloth, Northwest Coast, possibly Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), Native American — Sextuple Stopped Pipe
Northwest Coast, possibly Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), Native American
19th century

Helmet crest from a nja masquerade, Grassfields artists, Wood, copper, glass beads, raffia palm, cowrie shells, Bamum kingdom — Helmet crest from a nja masquerade
Grassfields artists
ca. 1800–80

Negbe (women’s back apron), Mangbetu artist, Banana leaves, raffia palm fiber, natural dye, Mangbetu peoples — Negbe (women’s back apron)
Mangbetu artist
ca. 1925–50

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