Such beautifully crafted metal pipes were previously reserved for old dignitaries from one of the courts of the many small kingdoms in the Cameroon Grassfields (northwestern Cameroon). The present pipe is an example of such a court object of prestige. It consists of three parts that are all made of old yellow cast-alloy (brass/bronze), executed with ‘waste mould’ casting. The interestingly formed, large pipe bowl is decorated, on the front, with a triangular relief made from cowrie shells (a symbol of wealth) and bears, beyond that, a pattern of circles with hemispheres in the centre. The middle piece is decorated in two parts with alternating hatched triangles all the way around. The thin pipe above is smooth to begin with, however in the middle and towards the end it is offset with ring-like shapes. The three parts are connected together by short wooden tubes wrapped in fabric. Between the pipe bowl and the pipe an original connection cord is attached on the underside, to ensure that the 3 parts do not fall apart while the pipe is being smoked.
It is visibly a very old object with minimal damage on the pipe bowl (lower left) and upper pipe. It has, however, a convincing and impressive usage patina on all metal parts and inside the pipe bowl. Length: 54 cm (in total). Between the 19th and the early 20th centuries. (ME)

Provenance:
Kegel-Konietzko Collection, Hamburg; currently: German private collection.

Lit.:
'Kamerun. Kunst der Könige' by Lorenz Homberger, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, ill. 21, cat. no. 38; 'Die Kunst Schwarzafrikas' by Miklós Szalay, Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich, ill. p. 94, 96, 97.