A Life in Ruins: Douglas Dawson, 35 Years of Art and Antiques 
13 July 2017
, Queen Mother's Pipe - Image 1 of 2
, Queen Mother's Pipe - Image 2 of 2
A Life in Ruins: Douglas Dawson, 35 Years of Art and Antiques 
, Queen Mother's Pipe - Image 1 of 2
, Queen Mother's Pipe - Image 2 of 2
171

Queen Mother's Pipe

Bamun Culture, Cameroon, 20th Century
hand-built and carved earthenware 21 h × 9 w × 10 d in (53 × 23 × 25 cm)
estimate: $5,000–7,000
own a similar item?
free evaluation

Includes custom metal stand.
provenance: Private Collection, Germany

print

Ceramics have been an essential part of African art for well over 3000 years. This remarkable and enormous pipe of hand-built earthenware depicts a royal with an elaborate coiffeur of interwoven stylized spiders—a motif of royal prerogative. Such a pipe, the property of the mother of the king, would have been displayed publicly during ceremonies and rituals.

171