Bamenda Ceremonial Pipe - Frog Form

Dark, long-stemmed pipe whose bowl wears a crouching creature's face.

This terra cotta ceremonial pipe in the form of a frog is Bamenda, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Terra cotta is low-fired, unglazed clay that potters can model by hand into detailed animal and plant shapes before it is burnished or left with a matte surface. Black stem decorated with bands of white incised lines spiraling toward the tip. At the bowl end, a rounded head with small features and what looks like a hunched animal body. The surface is smooth, glossy and brown at the bowl. It is 7.5 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 2 high.

The animal looks pleased to be holding the bowl up.