Model pipe bowl with seated figure
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Model pipe bowl with seated figure
- Artist: Tikar artist
- Date: Early 20th century
- Geography: Cameroon, northwest region, Bamessing
- Culture: Bamessing
- Medium: Terracotta
- Dimensions: H. 6 × W. 3 1/4 × D. 3 1/2 in. (15.2 × 8.3 × 8.9 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics-Implements
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1972
- Object Number: 1972.4.51
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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Tikar artist
Early 20th century
Tita Yuefainji
1930–31
Eghap(?) artist
Early 20th century
Mangbetu artist
First half of 20th century
Republic of Benin (?)
before 1950
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