Bamileke Pipe Case, Cameroon, Early 20th Century.

Pipe bowl modeled after an ancestral bust, hands with long fingers placed on the chin in a symbolic gesture, mouth in relief open showing teeth, nose with flared nostrils, and coffee bean eyes surmounted by a domed forehead with brow ridges marked by incised patterns. The head is topped with a crown with linear and interlaced decorations. Terracotta, old brown patina, signs of use. Bamileke, Cameroon, early 20th century. Dimensions: 13.4 × 4 cm Sold with black iron base and certificate of authenticity from the expert Serge Reynes. Guarantee of origin and period. Among the Bamileke, modeled terracotta pipes were not simple utensils, but prestigious attributes reserved for notables, chiefs and sometimes members of royalty. Their use was part of ceremonial contexts, during important gatherings or rituals where tobacco, through its smoke, played a mediating role with the spiritual world. The anthropomorphic ornamentation of this bowl, presenting a crowned face with expressive features, directly places the object in the sphere of power and ancestral memory.