Lot: 376

86th Tribal Art Auction

Basket

Cameroon, Wum

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
collected in situ (1940)
American Private Collection
H: 12.8 inch 800 EUR
plus 27 % commission, VAT, transport and insurance

diverse plant fibres, dyed in parts, good state of preservation;
traditionally these baskets are designed to have well-rounded bottoms and a curved wall which widens gently toward the sturdy rim. A conical cover crowns the object, and colourful patterns are woven into the sides. Their most distinctive feature is the elongated cylinder attached as a base, but since the basket is carried on the head, this impractical device is merely a status symbol. The more the owner is sure of her balancing act, the taller the cylinder becomes.


Gebauer, Paul, Art of Cameroon, New York 1979, p. 257, ill. P111 Kahan, Leonard et .al., A Cameroon World, New York 2007, p. 173, ill. 133