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BAMILEKE, Art, Cameroon
Most Bamileke art (and the work of other kingdoms of the Cameroon Grasslands) relates to kings and important chiefs, who defined their power by the display of prestige objects during important ceremonies.
Stools were among the most important of these objects. The motifs include leopards, human figures and heads, spiders, lizards and other subjects plus abstract designs. The spider, often found abstracted in repeating patterns,is a symbol of wisdom. The leopard; cunning, fast, mobile and guardedly aggressive, signifies the ability to survive and is the most important royal icon, often even the king's alter ego. Glass beads embellish the most important royal stools.
Beds, like stools were among the most important of these objects.
Drums are among the most important art forms in Africa, used both as a musical instrument and as a work of sculpture significant in many ceremonial functions, including dance, rituals, story-telling and communication of messages.Six Bamileke drums, embellished with low relief carving of figures, animals and objects show the creativity and power the Bamileke put into functional objects. One unusually complex form seems to be a hybrid of styles.
These are functional gongs struck by wood sticks.
The Bamileke are better known for their masks, stools and beadwork but the two small doors with doorframes are typical and are mounted in the wall about two feet off the ground. The door lifts out; its like the upper half of a "French" door.
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