Bamenda Ceremonial Pipe - Bird Form

Little animal sits on the bowl of this long pipe, wearing a bird-tail at the stem.

This terra cotta ceremonial pipe in the form of a bird is Bamenda, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. The Bamenda region lies in the Grassfields of Cameroon, where pipes have long been made as markers of rank and gatherings of title holders. Long, dark pipe with a cylindrical bowl that has a small animal figure crouched behind it. Fine incised lines mark the slender stem, a fan of small cuts ends the figure at the back, and the surface is smooth and glossy. It is 7.25 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 2.38 high.

A pipe with a small, patient passenger.