Bamenda Ceremonial Pipe - Two Birds Form

Dark pipe with an animal-headed bowl and a long etched stem.

This terra cotta ceremonial pipe in the form of two birds 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. Long black stem scratched with delicate incised marks and patterns along most of its length. The bowl end is molded as a small animal head with a pointed muzzle, tiny ears and a round opening on top. The surface is smooth and lustrous. It is 6.75 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 1.75 high.

It has a snout, a purpose and a very long tail.