Ceremonial Prestige Pipe Bowl from the Bamileke people of Cameroon, West Africa

Pipe Power!

Although many substances can be smoked in a pipe, the type of pipe and when it is smoked usually says more about the smoker than what is placed inside. Think of an Indian Chief offering a peace pipe; Hugh Hefner puffing on a wood pipe surrounded by bunnies and plumes of a different sort; or Gandalf the Grey with a thin stemmed clay pipe, contemplating the fate of the world. Regardless of what is put into the pipe’s bowl, pipes have been used all over the world to seal treaties, burnish images, and of course, to alter reality.

The dramatic size of this pipe symbolizes the power of the fon, or chief

This week’s New Arrival features a large “prestige pipe bowl” from the Bamileke Kingdom in Cameroon, West Africa. Crafted in clay, it measures an astonishing two feet long. Although there is no stem, one can only imagine how long it would be if it were actually used for smoking – but it wasn’t! Instead, it was displayed on special occasions with a cache of other objects to affirm the power of the King. The ancestral figures on its surface carry a simple message: this pipe does not have to be smoked to embellish the importance of its owner.

View Product ››