Cameroon Grasslands
Bamum

Wood, metal, braided ratton, rope
ca. Mid 20th century
Height: 21 inches
Idiophone – Struck Directly  – Metal Double Bells

This Bamun figural double bell was possibly played on royal or state occasions. The two bells are made of hammered iron. The fork is covered in wicker and the bells are surmounted by a beautifully-carved figure of a Fon (king) smoking a pipe.

According to Yuri Raskin: “The art of Bamum is, in a great part, the art of a royal court that had a complex protocol and numerous rituals. The fon and his court is a focal point of the Bamum, and it exerted powerful influence upon the development of the plastic art that tends towards dramatization, power and sumptuous luxury.  Tobacco pipes with long wooden stems are prestige items in the Cameroon Grassland. As regalia of Fons (Kings) and title holders, they were indispensable personal prestige items, cared for, carried after their owners by retainers, and displayed as status indicators on ceremonial occasions. The king had to smoke the pipe not only in the palace, but when he traveled among the people, because the smoking of it was regarded as a rite that would make both the fields and the women fertile. The art of smoking was a vital part of royal ritual.”