Artwork Page for Pipe bowl

Details / Information for Pipe bowl

Pipe bowl

early to mid-1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Luluwa or Luntu maker

Medium
Wood, iron, and copper alloy
Measurements
Overall: 6 x 7.4 x 24 cm (2 3/8 x 2 15/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Jo Hershey Selden Fund 2008.152
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The cavity for the tobacco is positioned in the belly of a figure who holds himself up with bent arms on the pipe.

Description

Tobacco smoking had important social connotations in Central Africa, denoting age, status, and gender. Perhaps the enlarged hand expressed physical and spiritual powers and indicates that this work belonged to a chief. Figuratively carved pipes and snuff mortars constitute important genres of Luluwa decorative arts. As personal objects reflecting the prominence and success of their male and sometimes female owners, they are usually the creative work of virtuoso artists and take a variety of often imaginative shapes.
A dark brown, polished wood and iron pipe bowl is carved in the shape of a hand with fingers extended toward our left. It features a cylindrical bowl resting in the palm, its rim bound by a thin metal ring. Along the stem, a small human figure sits facing the bowl, while the carving terminates on our right in a hollow opening at the end of the stem.

Pipe bowl

early to mid-1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Luluwa or Luntu maker

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